Clackamas Fire Honors Lifesavers At Chain Of Survival Celebration

OREGON CITY, OR — Several emergency responders, Clackamas County residents, and law enforcement personnel were honored this week during Clackamas Fire District #1's sixth Chain of Survival Celebration, acknowledging the efforts made by various individuals to help save their fellow community members suffering cardiac arrest.

The April 24 event at Providence Willamette Falls Community Center focused on eight specific cardiac arrest saves, Clackamas Fire spokesman Steve Hoffeditz said in a statement. All those included in the celebration received a challenge coin for their participation in the life-saving event.

Additionally, the honorees were reunited with the individuals they helped save during the celebration, allowing each of them to truly experience the value of their actions.

"All too often our first responders and citizen heroes who help save a life aren't able to reunite with the victim," said Clackamas Fire District #1 Chief Fred Charlton. "The Chain of Survival Celebration brings rescuers and survivors together and demonstrates how important calling 911, learning hands-only CPR, accessing an AED, and providing advanced care is to ensure life goes on."

Of the 350,000 people who reportedly experience cardiac arrests outside hospitals each year, fewer than 10 percent survive, Hoffeditz said, adding that community members who are trained in hands-only CPR can make a huge difference in whether the victim lives or dies.

The eight cardiac arrest saves honored on Tuesday were made possible because "someone recognized there was a medical emergency, they took immediate action, called 911, someone started hands-only CPR, and our emergency dispatchers quickly dispatched our incredible first responders, and, as a result, the chain was unbroken," Division Chief Bill Conway said.

Information on where to obtain CPR/AED and first aid training in the Portland metro region can be found online at CascadeTraining.com.

Images via Clackamas Fire, Training Technician Austin Thiele