For several years now, the Spring Fire Department has offered CPR/AED classes a couple times a month for anyone who wants to learn how to save a life. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator (CPR/AED) students should leave feeling prepared in case of emergency.
For $45, students learn from firefighter and paramedic Dave Corson, who has four decades of experience as a CPR instructor. The American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR classes that Spring Fire hosts teach CPR for adults, children and infants as well as what to do in case of choking and how to use an AED. “Bystander CPR is so important and I advocate that everybody of all ages, starting in high school, should learn CPR,” Corson said.
Certifications last only two years and Corson said people should keep theirs up to date because of how much has changed since he has started teaching. “Mostly what’s changed is the ratio of compressions to breaths,” Corson said. “The reason that we now do 30 compressions and two breaths, as opposed to in the past when we did 15 or five compressions, is because it takes about six or seven compressions just build pressure in the cardiovascular tube and then we need to hold it up so that we can send more oxygen and blood to the brain.”
Every second counts in an instance of cardiovascular failure. By knowing CPR, you could help save someone’s life. “Time is of the essence. When a person collapses, every minute that CPR is withheld their chance of survival decreases seven to ten percent,” Corson said. “That alone illustrates why it’s so important for everybody to learn CPR.” To check when the CPR/AED classes are offered, click here: https://www.springfd.org/events/. Hannah Falcon is a sophomore Communication major at Texas A&M University. A Staff Writer and Life & Arts Editor for the Texas A&M Battalion, Falcon is spending the summer as a volunteer writer for Spring Fire Community News.
