The Great Neck Alert Junior Firefighters participated in their annual First Aid, CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) training. All junior members are required to take the annual refresher course taught by certified American Red Cross instructors who are also members of the Great Neck Alert Fire Company. The juniors learned how to immobilize a victim, bandage and splint injuries and perform CPR. They also learned about assisting a choking victim and how to use the AED.
One of the junior members volunteered to be the victim so the others could demonstrate these lifesaving skills. Alert Juniors also learned how to carefully carry a victim strapped in a stair chair down a flight of stairs.
Since cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, training these young members of the junior fire department to be lifesavers in their own communities can greatly increase a victim’s chance of survival.
