Valley first responders gather for CPR training at Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) - "We're trying to engage our communities in performing CPR, all in an effort to get more survivors from cardiac arrest," says Dr. Miranda Lewis with the Central California EMS Agency.

At Fresno State, first responders and community members from Fresno, Tulare, Kings, and Madera Counties came together for a two-day session, to perfect and advance their skills through what's known as "high-performance CPR."

"High-performance CPR is highly choreographed CPR. When we think about surviving cardiac arrest, really the first 10 minutes, really the first 600 seconds are what matter the most," Dr. Lewis says.

The Seattle-based "Resuscitation Academy" put on the two-day class.

"Coming together and practicing these skills together is crucial to our mission in caring for people," says Ben Wiele with American Ambulance.

The Fresno Fire Department and American Ambulance say that through the high-performance CPR technique, they've seen success in the field, and that means saving more lives.

"Fresno Fire and American Ambulance embarked on a pretty ambitious goal in training up a thousand personnel in a new way of choreographing CPR between fire personnel and the ambulance personnel," Wiele says. "And the result of that is a 60% increase in cardiac arrest saves."

That's why both agencies wanted to bring it back to Central California.

Because it's an extra life-saving skill for first responders in the Valley.

The Fresno Fire Department says that all new firefighters who come in will need to learn high-performance CPR.

"Anyone who's been on the 20 plus year or starting tomorrow, we're all going to be on the same page," says Josh Sellers with the Fresno Fire Department.

"People can survive from cardiac arrest, it just takes high-quality CPR, it takes practice it takes training, and it takes engaging the community," Dr. Lewis says.