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Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society adds AED to Williams Beach Road location

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Photo: Lt. Sandy Pridmore, MARS Darlene Banerd, MARS, Warren Warttig and Captain Rob Stevens show the new automatic external defibrillator (AED) that will be located at the MARS facilities located at 1331 William Beach Road, Black Creek. Photo supplied

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Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS) has collaborated with the Comox Firefighters Association to add yet another automatic external defibrillator (AED) in the Comox Valley.

This one will be located at the MARS facilities located at 1331 William Beach Road, Black Creek.

“It is great to see organizations like this assisting us in our efforts to get more public access AEDs available,” Comox Fire Rescue Chief Gord Schreiner said. “I am also very proud of our firefighters for their on-going support of this important project. We have now partnered with various groups to get more than 50 AEDS placed and our firefighters have invested over $60,000 of non-tax dollars in this important project over the past 10 years.”

Public access AEDS are very simple to use, maintain and can save lives.

A public access AED costs approximately $2,000. The Comox firefighters have been co-sponsoring the AEDS with local Comox groups and businesses who agree to donate half of this amount ($1,000). The Comox firefighters cover the remaining cost. They also provide both CPR and AED training to the business’s staff. The Comox Firefighters Association receives many requests each year and assesses each request to determine which ones they can assist.

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) can strike at any time—during work, while at church, or while visiting your local business. Fewer than 10 per cent of SCA victims typically survive, but studies show that 30-50 per cent would likely survive if CPR and AEDs were used within five minutes of collapse. Communities across the country are responding by implementing public access defibrillation programs. Public access defibrillation programs include both access to AEDS and training.

Comox Fire Rescue knows the value of AEDs as they carry AEDs on all of their emergency vehicles and also have one mounted in their fire station.

Please contact Comox Fire Rescue at firehall@comox.ca for more information about the program.