Annually, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) EMS Section, with the support of the PulsePoint Foundation, recognizes fire-service-based EMS systems that play a key role in improving out-of-hospital response and treatment of heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest. Two Heart Safe Community awards are presented, one for a small/mid-sized community with a population of 100,000 or less and one for a large community with a population more than 100,000.

This year’s winner for the small/mid-sized community is Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, FL and the large community winner is Sarasota County Fire Department, FL. Both departments have made significant investments in preventing, recognizing, and treating heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.

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By James Careless, All Things FirstNet

Every day in the United States, about 1,000 people suffer cardiac arrests. Every minute that passes between a cardiac arrest and the administration of aid decreases their chance of survival by 10%. Clearly, the sooner that medical assistance arrives, the better.

Speeding the arrival of help is the goal of the PulsePoint Foundation (PulsePoint), a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit organization. Mindful that even the fastest-dispatched EMS and fire agencies can take precious minutes to arrive, PulsePoint recruits CPR-trained volunteers to step in when they are closer to the scene. This is possible due to these volunteers running the free PulsePoint Respond app on their smartphones (available in Android and Apple iOS), and living in jurisdictions whose local 911 centers have registered to forward cardiac-related calls to PulsePoint as the calls come in.

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