The Akron Fire Department is expanding its capabilities for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) to all fire companies.
Each fire engine in the Akron Fire Department will be outfitted with automatic external defibrillators (AEDs), which will nearly double the capabilities of the emergency workers to provide life-saving services to the members of the community. Currently, the Akron Fire Department has 14 ambulances and 13 corresponding fire engines at the same stations every day. AEDs help reduce the risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest and are particularly helpful in prehospital settings.
“Placing AED’s on all of our front line fire apparatus is a part of supporting Akron’s goal of being a Heart Safe City by rapidly getting an AED to the scene of a cardiac arrest,” said Joe Natko, the District Chief of the Akron Fire EMS Bureau.