Volunteer Fire Department Receives CPR Training Unit Courtesy of Smithtown Toyota

Smithtown Toyota president and CEO Steve Cannata, a board member of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), recently donated a CPR training unit worth over $5,000 to the Smithtown Volunteer Fire Department.

“It is a great honor to present these life-saving units to the Smithtown’s fire departments,” said Cannata. “Our local fire departments do such an amazing job of keeping us safe and I think it is the obligation of every area business to give back to the community whenever we can.”

This is the third donation Cannata has made to area fire departments, and he was thanked heartily by Smithtown Volunteer Fire Department 3rd Assistant Chief Kevin Fitzpatrick.

“Most people don’t realize that the vast majority of calls to the Fire Department are ambulance calls and that is why this donation is so important to us,” said Fitzpatrick. ”We will use this CPR unit for our own training and also for our CPR outreach programs throughout the community of Smithtown.”

The Resusci Anne training unit will allow Smithtown Volunteer Fire Department personnel to train local residents on the proper way to perform CPR, which, when done correctly, helps increase the survival rate of someone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.

Cannata presented the CPR unit to the fire department on July 29 at Smithtown Toyota, located at 360 E. Jericho Turnpike. Last December, Cannata donated a similar unit to the Nissequogue Fire Department and in April he presented another one to the St. James Fire Department.

The donation is part of National Automobile Dealers Association’s community outreach program, and is administered locally by GNYADA. Since 1975, franchised automobile dealers across the nation have donate thousands of manikins worth over $2 million, on which more than a million people have been trained.