South County Fire will be hosting first-aid and CPR training May 19 and 20 as part of its goal to train 500 people in CPR during the month of May. 

ACT Training will be held on Friday, May 19 from 5-7 p.m. at Lynnwood Civic Center Fire Station Conference Room, located at 18800 44th Ave W.

Training lasts less than an hour and no registration is required, so participants are welcome to drop-in. Information will be offered in both English and Spanish. It is important to note that the skills learned are purely practical and participants will not be certified in CPR. 

ACT stands for Antidote, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation– more commonly known as CPR– and Tourniquet. South County Fire will be providing informational and practical knowledge on these three skills that you can use to save a life in the first few minutes before firefighters arrive. South County Fire’s cardiac arrest save rate of 61.5% for 2022, higher than the state average of 38.5% and the national average of 34.3%.

Additionally, in honor of National Emergency Medical Services Week, taking place next week from May 21-27, South County Fire will be hosting an open house on Saturday, May 20, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. so members of the public can meet their first responders. The event will be held at the Edmonds Downtown Fire Station located at 275 6th Ave. N. Similar to the ACT training, attendees are invited to stop by any time during event hours to learn hands-only CPR. Other open house activities include a teddy bear clinic, fire engine tours and opportunities to learn about fire safety and injury prevention programs. 

“We know effective bystander CPR provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest can significantly increase a victim’s chance of survival,” said South County Fire Assistant Chief Shaughn Maxwell. “The more people we have trained in CPR, the more lives we can save in our community.” 

For those unable to attend in person, South County Fire also offers free online ACT and CPR classes. The next online class is June 21 at 6 p.m. Those looking to learn more about ACT or  register for online classes can find more information here.