Defibrillators

Defibrillator at Penketh Fire Station Life-saving devices have been installed outside all Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s 28 fire stations, in a bid to help save the lives of people who suffer a cardiac arrest.

Funded by Cheshire Fire Authority, the wall-mounted Automated External Defibrillators (AED) have been installed at fire stations across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington. They can be accessed by members of the public in the event of someone suffering a cardiac arrest in the vicinity.

The defibrillators deliver an electrical current through the chest, which aims to shock the heart back into a rhythm and have activated voice instructions to help those using it before an ambulance arrives. Immediate defibrillation following cardiac arrest can increase survival rate by as much as 80 per cent.

The devices are clearly visible outside the fire stations, fitted to the exterior wall. To access one in an emergency you need to phone 999 and ask for an ambulance and you will be given a code to open a box where the defibrillator is housed. The device can then be taken to the casualty and will be collected and returned by paramedics after the emergency.

Fire engines across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington already carry defibrillators which can be used at operational incidents and any events the fire engine attends.