Starkville Fire Chief teaches CPR to the public
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – A medical emergency can happen in the blink of an eye, and knowing what to do and how to do it, can save a life. Starkville Fire Chief Charles says teaching others how to save lives is one of his top priorities as leader of the fire department.
“This is something that I have been doing for the last 27 years, which is teaching CPR,” said Yarbrough. “This is something that I really enjoy because it is a lifesaving technique. Part of being a firefighter is helping save lives and preventing the loss of life, so you just never know when you need it.”
Chief Yarbrough also said there’s no age limit or restriction on learning to help save a life.
“You just never know, every second counts when someone is not breathing and doesn’t have a pulse, so CPR is very important,” said Yarbrough. “The more people that know it, the better chance that everyone has the opportunity to know how to do it in case something did happen.”
Cheryl Young is a member of Peter’s Rock. She said she has seen firsthand just how important knowing CPR can be.
“My granddaughter had to be coded, and the physician was in the room at the moment,” said Young. “The timing helped save her life, the faster and quicker you can start CPR, the better chance of surviving. I wanted to provide this service for the church because I think everyone needs to know how to do CPR.”
Shanetta Bradford attended the CPR class. She said she learned new life-saving skills.
“It was very beneficial to me because I did not realize that some of the things changed like now you have to do 30 compressions,” said Bradford. “It used to be only 15 compressions and now it is 30 compressions. So, that was very informative to me because compression is very important so that blood can flow through the body. I am in the healthcare field; I go into people’s homes and take care of them. So, I need to make sure if I am there by myself when someone passes out, I need to know what to do to help save them.”
