At this week's Kennett Regional Fire Department training, volunteers from Kennett Fire Company No. 1, Longwood Fire Company, and Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company rotated through stations to review skills to assist EMS personnel and complete their annual CPR recertification.

At the first station, firefighters practiced using the stair chair. The stair chair uses a rolling tread system that allows responders to safely transport patients up or down steps without lifting. This device is useful in moving patients to the ground floor when located on an upper level or basement of a structure.

At the second station, EMS staff taught the volunteers how to use the electric stretcher and power-load system to load a stretcher into the ambulance. The electric power-load system allows personnel to load a patient on a stretcher into the ambulance without the need to lift the patient.

At the third station, members practiced CPR and used an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) on a specialized computer-operated mannequin. The mannequin is designed to mimic a human in cardiac arrest. It provides instantaneous feedback about the quality of the CPR compressions to help students learn the best CPR technique.

At the final station, members demonstrated their knowledge by performing CPR on adult and infant mannequins. By the end of the evening, all participating members had completed the annual CPR recertification.

Thank you to Po-Mar-Lin Fire Company for the pictures.