Utah Firefighters Instruct City Workers on AEDs

April 09--SYRACUSE -- Bailee Wilcox learned quickly that chest compressions are not as easy as the Syracuse firefighters made them look.

"Oh, my gosh, that's hard," said the 16-year-old girl as she tried to do the compressions on the dummy.

Bailee was among two dozen Syracuse Parks and Recreation employees who were at a training seminar Monday for the use of automatic external defibrillators.

The city recently bought six of them at a cost of $1,700 apiece. The city received a seventh defibrillator, plus a rolling cart, from the company it purchased them from for free.

Syracuse Fire Chief Eric Froerer said "it's just good practice" to have a defibrillator in every city-owned building, as well as have at least one available to go out on the fields during baseball, soccer, football and tennis competitions.

Froerer said he asked the city council to help come up with the funds because they had not been budgeted. The city council approved the funding. Now city employees, including teenagers who work for the parks and recreation department, are receiving training on how to use the machines.

Froerer said in a six-month period, a basketball player at Utah State University, a young boy playing soccer and a coach at Fairfield Junior High School all collapsed as a result of heart problems.

"I don't know if they had access to a defibrillator or if a defibrillator would've made a difference, but it wouldn't have hurt," Froerer said.

Kresta Robinson, the parks and recreations director, said the defibrillators are a good idea, especially as the recreation center on an average slow day has from 250 to 500 people come through it. During its busy season, when Junior Jazz basketball and competition basketball games are in full swing, the center has between 900 and 1,100 people come through.

Robinson said the parks and recreation staff will use the defibrillator that comes with the cart, as well as one of the defibrillators that is assigned to the building, out in the fields when the outdoor games are in full swing.

Froerer told the staff at the training that unless they know how the defibrillator works, they will be scared to use it and "probably won't."

All of the staff tried their hand at using the training defibrillator and performing chest compressions.

Kara Mudrow is in her second year working for the parks and recreation department. She has seen her share of injuries.

"A lot of kids get hurt, and there is always blood, but I never thought of anyone having heart problems," said the 17-year-old. "This is good stuff to know."

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