Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory Seeking Grant For Mechanical CPR Devices
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Amanda Bridgman-abridgman@timesuniononline.com
Warsaw-Wayne Fire Territory applied for a K21 Health Foundation grant to get 17 mechanical CPR devices and is waiting to hear back. Chris Fancil, WWFT EMS coordinator, explained the importance of the machines during the fire territory’s board meeting Tuesday and said they could potentially increase saving lives by 50%. The 17 Autopulse Mechanical CPR devices would cost about $225,000, he said, and would be completely paid for by the K21 grant. If awarded that, WWFT would get three for each of their stations; and one would go to every volunteer department, including Nappanee, Leesburg, Milford, Pierceton, Sidney, Silver Lake, Claypool, Mentone, Atwood and Etna Green, with North Webster getting two. WWFT Fire Chief Mike Wilson said Syracuse already has three. The devices would eliminate the worry for first responders to do quality and consistent compresses on a patient in cardiac arrest or in need of CPR. The machines have a stabilizing board that ensures patients receive nonstop compressions throughout their pre-hospital transport, even at the multiple angles required for rescuers to move the patient. Fancil said a mechanical CPR device was used on a patient in the county and it was used for an hour and a half en route to a Fort Wayne hospital. Fancil said once they arrived at the hospital, the hospital asked if they could borrow it for a little bit because it was working so well. It also will help when responders are called out during the day where sometimes only two rescuers are able to arrive at the scene. “One guy can deploy this thing,” Wilson said. Currently, the survivability of a cardiac arrest within the county is about 9%, Fancil said. Based on data from other fire departments in the country who have implemented using these devices, their survivability rate has nearly doubled. Fancil said departments on the east coast are using these, then taking patients in cardiac arrest straight to a cath lab, and the machines are still working while they’re getting a catheter put in and they’re surviving. He said while we’re a long way away from that, it’s positive that K21 is talking about a future cath lab coming here. This change would be used countywide, Wilson said, with Fancil adding that the county is trying to be the leader in changing the way they do cardiac arrest saves. If the territory is approved for the devices, it could take up to 120 days to get them, and upon distribution, Fancil would provide education and training to the first responders. Also Tuesday, the board: • Received a 2019 year-in-review report from Wilson that showed they responded to a total of 2,803 calls for service, of which 2,321 were major incident types. Of those major incidents, 70.25% were for rescue and emergency medical services, with only 3.46% representing fire-related calls. This is an increase of 297 calls from 2018 to 2019, Wilson said, noting that each year there seems to be an increase of about 300 calls. Wilson also reported that in 2019 a total of $812,320 of estimated fire damage occurred, but with the accessed value of over a billion dollars worth of property the territory oversees, that’s very good. • Heard the December monthly fire activity report that showed a total of 233 calls, including 172 for rescue and emergency medical services and four for fire. There were 13 false alarm calls in December. Wilson said false alarm calls are going down. Also in December, 49 territory personnel completed 508 hours of training; and a total of 550 students between Lincoln and Jefferson elementary schools were presented with fire safety education. • Heard that the dive suits are being replaced along with the stove at station No. 2. The cost of the suits and accessories was $5,069.55; and the cost of the commercial stove and range hood was $4,599. Those monies came out of the territory’s equipment replacement fund, Wilson said. A moment of silence was held at the beginning of the meeting for Warsaw Police officer Jason Dobbins, who died Saturday while recovering from emergency heart surgery. The next Warsaw-Wayne Fire Protection Territory Board meeting is 4 p.m. March 10 in City Hall.
