Union criticises asbence of defibrillators in fire trucks

The union that represents part time fire fighters has criticized the absence of defibrillators in fire trucks, and also hit out at the lack of training for personnel in basic first aid.

Chairman of the National Federation of Part-time Fire-fighters and SIPTU representative Brendan McCoy has said that a report presented to the Minister for Health Mary Harney two years ago found that “survival rates following cardiac arrest are directly related to time to resuscitation and in particular, defibrillation”.