Firefighters in Pierce County have joined Pulse Point Respond, an app that notifies people who know CPR of medical emergencies happening within a quarter-mile radius.
Altogether, 19 agencies in Pierce County are using the app and encouraging people who know CPR to download it.
To promote the app, first responders staged a mock emergency in South Hill Mall in Puyallup to show how it works. Once someone calls 911, people who have the app and are in the area near the medical emergency receive an alert. If they agree to respond, the app directs them to the emergency.
Dr. Keith S. Gates, an emergency medical services physician with the Gig Harbor Fire Department said the app could save lives in the critical moments after someone suffers a cardiac arrest.