Mass. dept. receives $75k grant

By Debbie LaPlaca
Telegram & Gazette 

DUDLEY, Mass. — Fire Chief Dean C. Kochanowski has secured a $75,417 U.S. Department of Homeland Security grant to combat our nation's leading cause of death: sudden cardiac arrest.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant will be used to replace two outdated defibrillators the chief described as key pieces of equipment his department uses on nearly every paramedic call.

The Lifepak 15, he said, performs a broad range of essential functions, from rudimentary diagnostics, such as checking blood pressure, to delivering an electrical shock to the heart of victims stricken by sudden cardiac arrest.

Selectman Jonathan Ruda lauded the fire chief's success in defraying the town's public safety costs through grants and his commitment to improving service.

"Paramedics bring to the home the same advanced cardiac life support algorithm that is used in the emergency room," he said. "This protocol can be started upon the arrival of the ambulance on scene, and it undeniably saves lives."

The American Red Cross reports sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the U.S., with about 295,000 out-of-hospital occurrences each year. Of those, only 8 percent survive.

The malfunction in the heart's electrical system is reversible in most victims if treated within the first few minutes using CPR or a defibrillator to restore a normal rhythm.

With the new state-of-the-art defibrillators on order, Chief Kochanowski now turns his attention to reaching victims within those life-saving first few minutes.

Most cases of sudden cardiac arrest occur in the final phases of sleep or the very early morning hours, according to the Red Cross, or during on-call shifts, the chief noted, when emergency response time in Dudley is double or triple that of other hours.

The fire station is presently staffed by full-time employees from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Per-diem paramedics staff the station from 6 p.m. to midnight, when the lights go off and on-call personnel go on.

Mr. Ruda said selectmen are exploring funding methods for the $84,000 needed to expand the present 18 hours of station staffing to around-the-clock service.

"Paramedic coverage with adequate response levels is not a budgetary option but a public safety requirement of local government," Mr. Ruda said. "The funding for that last six hours is a hole in Dudley's budget that must be filled."

The federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant aids fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services. Since 2001, the grant has funded response equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

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