WATERVLIET ARSENAL, N.Y. (April 2016) --We are a nation of shoppers. If anyone has any doubt, all they need to do is visit a local mall on Black Friday and see the long lines of shoppers fighting over heavily discounted items.
The Watervliet Arsenal workforce resembles the nation in that when something is -- "let's say "free" --there is a rush to track down that precious commodity that is being offered. That was evident earlier this month when the Arsenal's fire department offered a free cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR course to about 20 members of the workforce. The class was oversubscribed.
Arsenal Fire Lt. Donald Haberski is the lead instructor for the course, which he has been providing to the Arsenal workforce every two months for the last 18 months. The course, which he calls "Save a Life Instruction," keeps growing. Not only in interest by the workforce, but also by the size of the subject matter.
Haberski explained that in addition to adult CPR training, he has expanded the course to include training on infants and children. And what was once training just for the Arsenal's security force and summer camp counselors is now being offered to the 1,300 people who work here.
Given that those 1,300 folks work somewhere on the Arsenal's 143-acre footprint and in one of its 72 buildings, Haberski is a man on a mission trying to get people certified in CPR in every building and office.
After all, in the first minute or so of someone collapsing and their breathing stops, it is critical that CPR is started to increase the odds of that person surviving. By the time it takes for the Fire Department to receive a call and dispatch an ambulance, precious minutes of lifesaving may have been squandered if there was no one there to apply immediate aid.
"The key is to do something, anything," Haberski said. "Certainly calling 911 is a great first step, but after that call, CPR must be started immediately, even by someone who is untrained."
Just last month in Washington, a 12-year-old boy saved his father's life by performing what the EMTs called "bystander CPR." The boy and his father were moving their household goods from one house to another when his father collapsed and stopped breathing. He had a heart attack.
Without any CPR training, the boy, despite being very scared, still had the calmness to remember that he had a cell phone on him. He called 911. The emergency service dispatcher who answered the call told the boy that he could cry later but for now, he needed to act and follow instructions.
The boy performed CPR on his father until paramedics arrived, which was about five minutes after his father collapsed. As the paramedics set up a breathing tube, the father's pulse came back and he took his first breath on his own since he collapsed.
Although CPR was given by someone untrained and by a child, a life was saved that day.
The thought of saving lives is also what urged many into this month's CPR class.
"I took a CPR course about five years ago when I started teaching a motorcycle safety course because I wanted to be prepared just in case something happened when I was teaching," said Colin McCarthy, a fourth-year apprentice. "I was surprised at how much the CPR process had changed over the years. But with the new certification, I believe that I am better prepared to help others."
McCarthy added that he wished more people would get CPR certified, just in case something ever happened to him.
Matthew Day, an Arsenal visual information specialist, said he took the course so that he could help others. Earlier this year, Day arrived at a car-accident site. Instead of being a "looky lou," he got out of his car and helped the injured.
"I came away that day with a feeling that I wanted to do more to help others," Day said. "I plan to become a volunteer firefighter in my community and I thought that having CPR training would help me become a better firefighter."
Haberski said that he has trained more than 160 people in the last 18 months, which is a little over 10 percent of the total workforce at the Arsenal. But he has seen the interest in the CPR training significantly grow in recent months and expects the numbers to dramatically grow in the future.
Nevertheless, he shouldn't have to make too hard of a sell because who could not justify spending a few short hours of their time that may one day save someone's life.
And did we say the course is "free."
Today's Arsenal is relied upon by U.S. and foreign militaries to produce the most advanced, high-tech, high-powered weaponry for cannon, howitzer, and mortar systems. This National Historic Registered Landmark had $138 million in revenue in fiscal year 2015 and has an annual economic benefit to the local community in excess of $100 million.
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