Off-duty Bellevue firefighter saves life using CPR-focused app

BELLEVUE, Wash. – A firefighter’s day off in Bellevue means a day when she’ll use her CPR skills to save a man’s life.

A Bellevue firefighter, who asked not to be named, was at a hair appointment when she received a notification from the PulsePoint app she downloaded on her mobile phone.

The alert let her know that she was near a man in cardiac arrest near Covington Town Hall.

PulsePoint is a free mobile app created to “empower the community” by connecting everyday citizens trained in CPR with nearby emergencies in public places. where a person needs CPR. A citizen may initiate CPR before first responders arrive.

This app is a way to CPR “community source”.

According to the Medic One Foundation, the “lifesaving app” also helps locate AEDs, provides instructions on how to perform CPR, and allows users to follow their local fire and EMS authorities to receive alerts about CPR. significant events, such as wildfires and floods.

Dave Tait, Bellevue Fire Department (BFD) EMS executive director, said the off-duty firefighter who helped a Covington man also responded to a cardiac arrest call through the app two years ago. before and help save a woman’s life. At the time, she was not yet a trained firefighter, but knew CPR and acted upon receiving a PulsePoint alert.

Tait discusses how his fellow firefighter responded to the app in the video player above.

“Starting CPR before EMS arrives is very important,” Tait said. “Every minute without CPR reduces the chance of survival by 10%.”

According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospitals each year in the United States. Effective citizen CPR and a shock from an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), delivered immediately, can double or triple your chances of survival.

Tait said the BFD regularly organizes CPR classes for people to learn CPR for adults, children and infants. He said other fire and EMS agencies also offer classes.

To watch a hands-on demonstration of CPR in the studio, click on the video player below.

A few upcoming classes are being offered at the following locations:

CPR/AED & First Aid
Thursday, February 23
4:30-7:30pm
Rainier Beach Community Center
Registration

CPR/AED & First Aid
Saturday, February 25
10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Bellevue Crossroads Community Center
Registration

CPR/AED & First Aid
Saturday, March 18
10:00 AM-1:00 PM
Green Lake Community Center
Registration