Oregon Fire Districts Join Forces to Speed up Response to Cardiac Arrests
May 13—Eight fire districts have joined together to promote faster response to cardiac arrests in Clackamas County.
Led by Clackamas Fire District 1, the districts are actively recruiting citizens to subscribe to PulsePoint, a free smartphone application that alerts citizens with CPR training that someone nearby is suffering cardiac arrest.
"It really can be a lifesaver," said Brandon Paxton, Clackamas Fire 1 spokesman. "This partnership with the other fire districts gives the community seamless coverage across eight agencies dispatched by Clackamas County Communications."
Partners in the new venture, launched last week, include the Sandy, Colton, Estacada, Molalla, Hoodland and Canby fire districts, along with the Gladstone Fire Department. Neighboring Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, which serves West Linn and Wilsonville, started its program in 2013.
Paxton said cardiac arrest accounts for an estimate 424,000 deaths every year in the United States. The American Heart Association estimates that effective CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, will double or triple a victim's chance of survival.
"That's why quick response by a trained individual is critical," Paxton said.
The PulsePoint app can be downloaded from the nonprofit PulsePoint Foundation. The app is designed to reduce response times by telling subscribers the location of cardiac victims and nearby automated external defibrillators -- AEDs.
The app already has saved lives in Clackamas County. Scott Brawner, an off-duty TVF&R firefighter, was working out at a Clackamas-area health club in May 2014 when his phone alerted him to a problem. Brawner then used the map to find Drew Basse, a Milwaukie truck driver, in the health club parking lot, in serious distress.
Brawner immediately began hands-only CPR. He kept it up until paramedics from American Medical Response and Clackamas Fire District 1 arrived to provide advanced care. Basse and Brawner later met at the hospital where Basse was recovering.
"Mr. Basse is still our poster boy," Paxton said. "He's living proof that PulsePoint works to save lives."
Copyright 2015 - The Oregonian, Portland, Ore.
