SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A new defibrillator is now in place at the walking track at the Credit Union Place.
Officials said the "rescue station" is the first of its kind in Canada, originating in the Netherlands.
Township Chervolet and Consolidated Credit Union donated the equipment to the facility after purchasing the life-saving device from the Miscouche Fire Department for $4,000.
The department received the defibrillator stand as a donation from ZOLL Canada with ADE4Life and ROTAID International to raise funds for the fire station’s ongoing project of building a monument for their fallen firefighters.
“The stand is a ZOLL AED 3, which basically means it can be used outside and is portable. For instance, if there was a ball game going on and they wanted to have the stand there, they can transport it to the baseball field,” said John Mitchell, captain of the rescue truck of the Miscouche Fire Department and first-aid instructor with the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Mitchell said devices like the rescue station are vital in saving lives from cardiac arrest or a heart attack and he hopes having one in Summerside will encourage other Island communities to invest in them.
“These kinds of devices need to be everywhere. So hopefully, having one here, others will want to have them in their communities as well. The reason I like the ZOLL AED 3 is because it's so visual, and tells you exactly what you need to do, start to finish.”
JP Desrosiers, the community services director for the City of Summerside, noted the rescue station will be the sixth addition to the pre-existing defibrillators within the building.
Having a defibrillator in the public’s viewpoint on the walking track will be beneficial for both the centre and customers, said Desrosiers.
“There was one incident on the walking track, but we used the defibrillator from the front desk, which is only 10 or 20 steps from the track itself. But to have one right there and visible, that customers can utilize if our staff isn’t in plain sight, it’ll certainly be helpful.”
The device will be a comfort for many, said Desrosiers.
“(Defibrillators) are a great thing to have. Time is of the essence when an incident like that arises, so the proximity of this particular unit on the walking track, it’s a great thing.”
Jason Woodbury, Miscouche’s fire chief, said the money that was donated will help recognize and memorialize firefighters in the community just west of Summerside.
”It’s paying it forward. This will help with raising funds for our monument.”
Woodbury said the station is still actively taking donations to help support their project.
“We started working on a monument in front of our station, for our fallen. We finished phase one by installing the flag poles and the base for the monument. Now we’re working towards phase two, which will be the monument. We’re hoping to finish the project early next year, for the anniversary of Cpt. Mike Gallant’s line-of-duty death. It happened five years ago and was really the driving force for this monument.”
