Defibrillators

"We could not have afforded one on our own, and the village could not have afforded to maintain it.

We've tried in the past, but we just couldn't have done it on our own." The units cost more than $3500 each to buy.

The Tokomaru defibrillator is the 11th to be delivered, and it goes to the smallest community so far in the board's $200,000 project to improve access to the lifesaving equipment.

Other units have been installed where large numbers of people congregate, such as The Plaza, Downtown, The Warehouse in the city and Dannevirke, and aquatic centres in Levin and Feilding.

Tokomaru village is home to just 600 people, but the fire service tends a larger area and is about 20 minutes ahead of ambulances from Palmerston North or Levin in attending medical call-outs.

Mr Gifkins says sometimes people are surprised when a fire truck turns up instead of an ambulance, but it meant trained help arrived quicker.

"We haven't actually had a house fire in the village for 30 years.

Most of our calls are car accidents or medical emergencies." Board project officer Lee Welch says having a defibrillator on the spot has potential to help up to 320 people a...

Read more...