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by Northwestern Bank totaling $2,111.16 paid for the training mannequins, according to Fire Chief Ron Patten. In addition to the new CPR training devices, the Boyd-Edson-Delmar Fire and Ambulance department has also purchased books, made possible through donations from the general public.

“We have never had as many donations to the fire department as we have this year,” Patten shared of public contributions to help the department. “So people are good hearted.” Patten estimated the cost of the books ran to $350 total, with the purchase made to update department materials to align with the American Heart Association, the organization tasked with setting the standards for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

As to the non-book updates, the Prestan brand CPR mannequins, or rather ‘manikins’ as called on the website at www. prestanproducts.com, these will be used to help Boyd-Edson- Delmar personnel and those in need of CPR certification practice for when such a life-saving skill may be needed. While covid restrictions have curtailed the local department’s ability to include in classes, those from the general public who may need certification, Patten said that as things return to normal (“hopefully within three months”) that this would change, and the department again offer classes to the general public.

As to details of the training equipment, the state-of-the-art Prestan Adult Series 2000 Manikin model includes a Bluetooth connection with the ability to provide advanced CPR feedback, including rate, depth, recoil, ventilation, and hands-off time, meaning that trainees can have real-time data on what they did right and how to improve as well.

In addition, the CPR trainers include plastic ‘lung bags’ simulating breathing, while a device called a bag-valve mask is used to force air into the lungs. The two main maneuvers in CPR, ventilating and chest compressions, are used for different things.

“Ventilating,” or forcing air into the lungs through the mouth and nose, is to restore breathing, while chest compressions are used to restore the heartbeat.

“If you have someone in respiratory arrest but not yet cardiac arrest,” then you ventilate them, Patten said. “If they’re in full cardiac arrest, then we’d be ventilating them and doing chest compressions also,” he said.

Also included with the equipment purchase made possible by Northwestern Bank of Boyd are eight infant-sized CPR-trainers, as CPR on the very young can have slight differences from that of fully-grown adults. Among these is the amount of air forced into the lungs and compression pressure used in trying to restore the young patient’s breathing.

“The big difference is how much air you ventilate,” Patten explained of infant CPR, saying that the department used a smaller bag-valve mask in the case of the very young, along with less pressure for chest compressions.

As before, those members of the general public interested in being certified in CPR should contact the Boyd Fire Department and Chief Patten for more information.