With workers hammering and sanding in the background, members of the Cannon Beach Fire Department presented a gift of an automated external defibrillator Tuesday to the Cannon Beach Academy’s Director Amy Moore and President Kellye Dewey.
The defibrillator will be stored at the academy’s new location on South Hemlock.
“Anybody with some basic training can save a person’s life,” said Lt. Brian Smith, a firefighter and president of the Cannon Beach Fire and Rescue Association. “Any time you have a heart issue, time is life.”
Proceeds from the association’s annual ham dinner and other fundraising events raised the $2,000 to purchase the device, used in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
“Hopefully we’ll never use it, but if we do need to, we’ll save lives,” Dewey said. “And every time somebody walks by and asks about our fire department, we can brag about it.”
“It’s fully automatic,” Fire Chief Matt Benedict said of the defibrillator. “If the staff has a heart issue, this is the first thing they have to do. All they have to do is hook up the pads and it does everything for them.”
Benedict said the academy staff is abiding by all state fire safety mandates. The hydrant will be located most likely on the road by the driveway. “They’re just wrapping everything up right now. They’ve got the exit signs up, the doors are up, the emergency lighting.”
Moore said she expects temporary occupancy to begin Tuesday. Teachers arrive Aug. 21 and the academy’s first year of operation begins Sept. 5. More than 40 first- and second-graders are enrolled in the new charter school.
The academy has two teachers, Dawn Jay and Theresa Dennis.
