A survivor of sudden cardiac arrest who works for a defibrillator company has donated three of the life-saving devices to the fire department and emergency medical unit in Hopewell Borough.
Mark Peters, who moved to Hopewell a few years ago, personally presented the units — called automated external defibrillator (AED) — last week to the Hopewell Fire Department Station 52 and Emergency Medical Unit Squad 152, both at 4 Columbia Ave. in the borough.
An AED is a computerized medical device that can check a person’s heart rhythm, recognize a rhythm that requires a shock, and can advise a rescuer when a shock is needed, according to information published on American Heart Association website heart.org .
“As a resident of Hopewell Borough, my wife and I were happy to donate the devices,” said Mr. Peters, who works as northern regional manager for Cardiac Science Corp. “I am also a sudden cardiac arrest survivor, so knowing that we are helping to protect the community and the firefighters is important. It’s equally important to protect them while they protect our community.”
The AEDs will be placed in three vehicles belonging to the all-volunteer Hopewell Fire Department and EMU, according to Squad 152 Chief Luke Morehouse.
Describing how the donation came about, the squad chief said Mr. Peters introduced himself, saying he was a Hopewell Borough resident and to contact him in case the fire station or EMU squad needed defibrillators.
“I was actually in need of two new AEDs, so I purchased two off of him,” Mr. Morehouse said. “The units we have on the trucks now are starting to get dated. So we’re basically updating with newer technology. The batteries last a lot longer, and the computer inside the AED itself has more precision and can read heart rhythms better.”
“A couple of months later, Mark said he would like to make a donation to our fire department for new AEDs made by Cardiac Science,” Mr. Morehouse said. “He actually made the donation out of his own pocket. He is doing it on his own.”
Rescue vehicles are equipped with defibrillators because “it’s been shown that an AED dramatically increases the survivability in the event of sudden cardiac arrest when it is used early on in the arrest,” the squad chief said. “The ability to have someone like Mark in town, who knows the equipment and can basically service the account is a big bonus.”
