Waterloo Fire Rescue Offers Free CPR Training to Churches

Waterloo Fire Rescue is offering free CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to local church groups in an effort to better prepare people to execute this life-saving intervention in public gatherings. This free course is meant to teach people how to keep someone alive until EMS arrives.

When Waterloo Fire Rescue teaches CPR to citizens, it is the hands-only technique. Studies have found, unless performed by a team of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals, adding ventilations (mouth-to-mouth) with compressions slows the rate of quality compressions. This in turn lowers the likelihood of people being hesitant to start CPR if they think they must perform mouth-to-mouth, and lowers the risk of communicable disease.

“CPR is always the first step in any cardiac arrest, whether you’re a bystander or a trained paramedic. So good quality CPR equates to saving lives,” says Bill Beck Fire Chief for the City of Waterloo.

This free course will offer adult and infant CPR, infant choking and proper automated external defibrillator (AED) use, which is the device used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest that is sometimes mounted on the wall.

The hands-on portion of the class will be 30-45 minutes with an in-person instructor led practice on mannequins. The public is able to do this part if they don’t want a certification. This will be provided for free from Waterloo Fire Rescue. The course will involve hands-on practice, in-person instructor teaching and a PowerPoint presentation.

Participants that want certification can schedule a course through the training center. The cost is $75 per person.

If a church group is interested, please call 319-291-4460 to sign up at least two weeks in advance. For this free training that does not include certification, a larger group can be accommodated.