Longboat Fire Department offers free CPR, AED training to public

The Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department has provided the training for about 2,000 people over the past few years.

By Brendan Lavell
| 11:15 a.m. December 10, 2019

Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department Lieutenant Bryan Carr watches over two boys as they practice CPR on a dummy. (Courtesy of the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department)

Longboat Key
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Do you want to learn how to save a life? The Longboat Key Fire-Rescue Department is offering the public a chance to do just that.

For the fourth year in a row, the department is offering free, hands-only CPR training three times during season: Dec. 13, Jan. 23 and Feb. 11. Two one-hour sessions will be held on each date, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., and AED training will be available as well. The sessions consist of video, lecture and hands-on practice with specially designed dummies for both CPR and AED use.

Hands-only CPR relies on chest compressions without the use of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, which experts have determined is effective in an emergency and easier to learn and perform.

Two women practice CPR at a training session held by the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department. (Courtesy of the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department)

“The training is so basic,” department liaison Tina Adams said, “yet it can save somebody’s life.”

Firefighters will give a tour of the station and of the fire trucks to those who want to stay after the session is over, according to Adams. One of the trucks is less than a year old, so visitors will have a chance to look at state of the art equipment.

In the past, the department has allotted room for 20 people per class. Because of remodeling of the fire station that has restricted available space, that number will be limited to 12 this year. If interest demands it, the department may hold extra sessions. The instructors have previously worked with 30 to 40 people at once at Longboat Town Hall, Adams said. They’ve also traveled to other locations when businesses and organizations wanted to offer the training to their members or employees.

The department has provided the training for over 2,000 people. CPR can be performed anywhere, but AEDs are becoming more readily available.

Many condominiums on Longboat Key either have them or are in the process of adding them, according to Adams. They’re often available in public locations as well, such as Publix and at the Public Tennis Center.

As for CPR, Adams said one woman performed it on her husband shortly after attending one of the training sessions in the past. The husband survived his cardiac arrest, and the woman came back for a second training session to refine the potentially life-saving skills she had learned.

A CPR training session held by the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department. (Courtesy of the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department)

“It’s a great refresher,” Adams said. “Obviously [it’s] something that we don’t want to have to do. But … the more you know and the more you practice on something, obviously the more proficient [you’ll be] if that time comes that you need it.”

The fire station is located at 5490 Gulf of Mexico Drive. If you would like to participate or have further questions, email Adams at [email protected] or call (941) 316-1944.