VIDEO: Students in eighth grade at Chief Joseph Middle School got a lesson in CPR from the Richland Fire Department.
177 students were a part of the department's kickoff for Heartsafe, an initiative to teach everyone how to perform hands-on CPR properly. This class was the first one for the department.
"What we really need to focus our efforts on is public education," said Josh Smith, Richland firefighter. "What we want to do is not just focus on adults, but we know that these sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students have the strength and have what it takes to do hands-only CPR." Students performed CPR either on a mannequin or cube. The cube would light up if compressions were done properly at a consistent rate.