For the first time in two years – or since the outbreak of COVID – the Killingworth Ambulance Association will hold a CPR class this Friday, May 6, at its Route 81 headquarters.
The class begins at 6 p.m. and is expected to last approximately three hours.
As was the case prior to COVID, Don McDougall will serve as an instructor. McDougall, who marks his 51st anniversary with the KAA this summer, tried to hold a class in 2020 but cancelled it after the COVID outbreak.
He said he normally does three to four classes per year.
“People ask: Why should I take it?’ “ McDougall said of CPR. “The great percentage of heart attacks happen at home, and you could be the only person there. If you call an ambulance, it could be 10-15 minutes before somebody gets there. In the meantime, you could be saving a loved one or family member.”
McDougall speaks from experience. Outside of the KAA, he said, he’s had three experiences with heart-attack victims. The first was when he was a pre-teen visiting grandparents in Maine. Descending a set of stairs, McDougall said he turned to see his grandfather – who had followed him down the steps — fall to the floor.
He had suffered a heart attack and later died.
“If somebody had known what to do,” he said, “we might have been able to do something.”
Friday’s CPR class is free for Killingworth residents. All non-residents will be required to pay a $25 fee.
For more information, please contact the Killingworth Ambulance Association at (860) 663-2450.