Twelve-year-old Angelina Fuentes receives first aid training from Fire Department emergency technician Elvis Velez at her school gym on Staten Island.
“Proud to do this, because we’re practicing doing this for other people,” Fuentes said.
The training is part of the city’s FDNY foundation’s mobile operation and the fire department’s paramedic training office.
Its goal is to train New Yorkers of all ages to learn the basics of first aid. Participants do not earn a certification.
During the workshop, students learn the signs of cardiac arrest, how to call 911, practice chest compressions, and use an automated defibrillator.
“We want everyone to be ready and prepared to give this person a chance to survive,” said coach Vélez.
Up to 9,000 cardiac arrests a year are recorded in the city and only 35 percent of these receive first aid by good Samaritans before reaching the hospital.
But according to the Fire Department, New Yorkers have seen increased interest in learning first aid since Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during a game on January 3.
Only so far this year they have trained 2,773 people, an increase of 400 percent compared to January 2022 when they trained 909 people.
Angelina says she now knows what to do in case of an emergency at home, especially if something happens to her nine-year-old brother.
“I’m going to help him, ask him if he’s okay to breathe and if he doesn’t do anything I tell my mom to call 911 and do the CPR,” Angelina said.
The free first aid trainings are open to groups of fifteen people or more in ten languages.
Schools and all New Yorkers interested in taking these classes can visit the website Fdnysmart.org/CPR
