Members gathered at 1:30pm to enjoy light refreshments and conversation.
President Lorne Meyer called the meeting to order at 2:00 and opened with some great “dad jokes” about getting older.
Announcements:
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Vice President Ann Zanbilowicz introduced the guest speaker, Jim Lariviere from the Comox Fire Department.
Jim served 42 years in both the Royal Canadian Navy and Airforce. He then started a fire service career and in the year 2000 Jim was hired as a full-time Assistant Fire Chief. Among his qualifications are Fire Officer Four and Fire Inspector Level Three. Besides Jim’s operational duties he is responsible for First Responder training, Public Education, Fire Inspections, Fire Engineering, etc.
Jim described and demonstrated how to handle the following emergencies:
Some interesting highlights:
Gift Cards ($25) from Milano Coffee were won by: Donna Young, Nancy Brown, Diane Needham and Jill Almond.
Notes by Cat Pedersen on behalf of Secretary, Vicki Matthews
President Lorne Meyer called the meeting to order at 2:00 and opened with some great “dad jokes” about getting older.
Announcements:
- Two new members in attendance: Kay Griffiths and Myrna Trimmer
- Communications Director Ian Thompson asked if members got his email about this meeting. Ian explained he is having email issues he believes are resulting from the Rogers acquisition of Shaw.
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Vice President Ann Zanbilowicz introduced the guest speaker, Jim Lariviere from the Comox Fire Department.
Jim served 42 years in both the Royal Canadian Navy and Airforce. He then started a fire service career and in the year 2000 Jim was hired as a full-time Assistant Fire Chief. Among his qualifications are Fire Officer Four and Fire Inspector Level Three. Besides Jim’s operational duties he is responsible for First Responder training, Public Education, Fire Inspections, Fire Engineering, etc.
Jim described and demonstrated how to handle the following emergencies:
- Conscious Choking
- Unconscious Choking
- Breathless CPR
- CPR when the person is breathing
- Use of the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to go along with CPR if it is available
Some interesting highlights:
- You don’t have to have perfect technique - it is better to do something than nothing
- You won’t be sued for trying to help someone - the ‘Good Samaritan’ doctrine is a legal principle in Canada that prevents a rescuer who has voluntarily helped a victim in distress from being successfully sued for wrongdoing
- There are many AEDs in communities - some are private and some are public. There is an app called PulsePoint AEd that shows AED locations and other lifesaving resourcing including Bleeding Control Kits, Naloxone, and Epinephrine (EpiPen®)
- Comox Fire Rescue offers a variety of courses to the public, including Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Personal Emergency Preparedness (PEP). To register for CPR and PEP courses held at the fire station, contact the Comox Recreation Centre (http://comox.ca/recreation) at 250-339-2255.
Gift Cards ($25) from Milano Coffee were won by: Donna Young, Nancy Brown, Diane Needham and Jill Almond.
Notes by Cat Pedersen on behalf of Secretary, Vicki Matthews