***UPDATE***
All slots have been taken! In what has to be record time, every spot in this session -- even after we expanded what's available by 40% -- is claimed. That said, we plan to conduct more CPR/AED+ classes in the future. Stay tuned to the City's social media and other channels.

***ORIGINAL POST***

The Milton Fire CARES program will host its next CPR and AED training class next month – an opportunity to show citizens tools and techniques they can use to save lives.

The hour-long class will start at 5 p.m. on Monday, October 14, at Fire Station 44 (13690 Highway 9 at the front of Milton’s Public Safety Complex). There’s no cost to attend, though you do need to register in advance.

You can do that HERE: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094AA8A72AA3FCC34-47955699-cprinperson#/.

Twenty people can attend. (Originally, it was only 12 but we split it into two classes due to high demand.) Others of its kind have filled up quickly, so act fast or -- if you’re not able to attend this session – look out for similar ones in the coming months.

These educational opportunities correspond to a core part of Fire CARES mission to foster a healthier community through education, engagement, and hands-on initiatives including direct care. Visit www.miltonga.gov/FireCARES or contact its Coordinator Derek Hofmann at derek.hofmann@miltonga.gov for more information.

Students in the October 14 class will learn how to do hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (the term often shortened to CPR) and use an automated external defibrillator, or AED. They will also be taught ways to assist someone who is choking. Attendees won’t get an official Red Cross CPR certification, but they will go home with extremely useful knowledge.

CPR/AED classes are particularly valuable because every moment is valuable when a person suffers from cardiac arrest. According to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR alone can double or even triple someone’s chance of survival. While ideally a medical professional (which includes the EMTs and paramedics working for Milton Fire) are nearby, that’s often not the reality. So classes like these are crucial in that they give more people tools to promptly step in to make an impact.

It's also why Milton Fire-Rescue has partnered PulsePoint, which alerts qualified citizens about nearby AED locations and cardiac arrest incidents. For more about that program, visit www.miltonga.gov/PulsePoint or download the PulsePoint Respond app.

Having more citizens who know CPR and how to use AEDs is a regional priority as well. To that point, the Rotary Club of North Fulton recently received a $5,000 grant to conduct trainings like these, increase the number of AEDs in the region, and bolster heart health awareness among the general public. (For more on this Rotary initiative, email Steve Cory at stevecory83@yahoo.com.)