South San Francisco, CA October 17, 2018 Press Release
Students to learn Hands Only CPR and Bleeding Control the week of October 22
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 17, 2018 – During the month of October, fire departments from all over the country celebrate fire prevention. This year’s theme: “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” works to educate people about three basic but essential steps to take to reduce the likelihood of having a fire – and how to escape safely in the event of one.
“While many agencies focus on Fire PreventionWeek, the South San Francisco Fire Department (SSFFD) has chosen to make it a month-long recognition, taking it one step further and training people on life-saving techniques,” says South San Francisco Fire Chief Jess Magallanes. As part of this national observance, the SSFFD plans to visit each of the high schools next week in South San Francisco to teach students Hands Only CPR and bleeding control. “The basis for training is to encourage engagement in emergency situations and to teach individuals simple actions that can save lives,” adds Chief Magallanes.
More than 1,500 South San Francisco high school students will receive Hands Only CPR and bleeding control training. Students will have the chance to observe multiple demonstrations and also have the opportunity to practice compressions on provided mannequins. The second half of the training, bleeding control, coincides with an initiative launched by the White House several years ago. The Stop the Bleed Initiative aims to train Americans to serve as “intermediate responders” by recognizing and treating major bleeding in the first few minutes after an injury, before first responders arrive.
The training schedule is:
Monday , October 22nd and Tuesday , October 23rd: South San
Francisco High School, 400 B Street; 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
W ednesday , October 24th: Baden High School, 825 Southwood Drive; 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Thursday , October 25th and Friday , October 26th: El Camino High School, 1320 Mission Drive; 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
“This is the second time we are going out to all the high schools in South San Francisco and already we are seeing and hearing the impact this training has made with several success stories of students using these skills in real life situations,” says Chief Magallanes.
For an overview of the Hands Only CPR training and Bleed Control techniques that will be shared by the SSFFD, please visit the Hands Only CPR video and https://www.dhs.gov/stopthebleed.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 420,000 out-of- hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year. Studies have shown:
80 percent out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen in private or residential settings
Survival depends on immediate CPR from someone nearby
If performed immediately, CPR can triple a victim’s chance for survival Hands Only CPR has shown to be as effective as conventional CPR