Donation helps buy AEDs for Fishers parks

FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) – If someone goes into cardiac arrest at a park in town, a specific tool will soon be there to save their life. And first responders are hoping the public is ready to use it.

“As long as you listen to what they’re doing, read it on the screen, you’re applying tabs, it’s real simple,” said Captain John Mehling with the Fishers Fire Department as he stood above an automated external defibrillator, or an AED.

The devices will soon be at 11 parks across town giving people the means to shock someone back to life.

“Our parks are very busy,” said Tony Elliot, Parks and Recreation Director. “Holland Park, we host summer camps, Freedom Festival is held here, we do a number of events. So literally tens of thousands of people are here and so with that number of people coming through it’s important to have that tool here  in case of an emergency.”

The tool comes at a cost. Luckily, St. Vincent Fishers was ready to foot the bill. It donated nearly $16,000 to pay for the AED’s.

“By them putting money behind it, it just reinforces that their slogans are not just slogans, it’s things that they stand behind,” said Captain Mehling. He said they’ve responded to parks in the past where people complained of chest pains.

Sporting fields and playgrounds create the chance for people to over exert themselves. Parents like Jill Tadros are glad AEDs will now be there just in case.

“I think some people are not quite sure what to do in those situations and if those are available and people are aware of what to do with them, I think it’s a great resource,” she said.

“It takes us time to get there,” said Captain Mehling. “That’s vital time but you can be using an AED and making a difference.”

Although the 11 parks have been picked, the next step is determining exactly where the AEDs should be placed. The fire department plans to buy the devices next week. They’ll be at the parks by spring.