By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — The Bellows Falls Firefighter’s Association hosted the Santa Express back in November, and funds raised from the event allowed for Bellows Falls/Rockingham organizations to be gifted automated external defibrillators (AED) that are used to treat someone who is in cardiac arrest.
“Thanks to the success of our Santa Express fundraiser, the Bellows Falls Firefighter’s Association donated four AED’s to places in the community that we thought could use them,” the Bellows Falls Fire Department posted on their Facebook page.
Wade Masure, president of the BFFA, said that this event was a huge undertaking that took place on Nov. 30, where there were five, one-hour long train rides that took passengers on a magical holiday excursion. Santa Claus was on hand, of course, and there were a variety of activities, sweets, snacks, holiday music and more. The Saxtons River Inn made homemade cookies for the event, donating 1,600 of them, which Masure said was “quite an undertaking.”
There were about 330 people on each ride, with a total of about 1,600 passengers throughout the day from Bellows Falls and beyond. The rail service was provided by the Vermont Rail System, and the North Walpole Fire Department helped cover the Bellows Falls Fire Department.
“The fundraiser itself had been in the works for about a year to bring back the Santa train, and with the help of the fire chief who is a railroad buff on the side, we were able to put this all together,” he said. “Moving forward we hope to make it an annual event. People came from near and far, so it was a success.
Masure said that the BFFA decided that they wanted to take some of the proceeds from the event to give back to the community, and figured they would start with AEDs. This was a group decision that was voted on and approved, and they also decided to donate $500 to Project Elf, which was put on by members of the Bellows Falls Police Department.
The organizations who received the AEDs included the Rockingham Recreation Center, Main Street Arts, the Saxtons River Inn, and the Bellows Falls Country Club. Masure added that the AEDs go for about $1,200 each, and representatives from the organizations were very grateful for the donation.
“We will also be working with all of them to provide them with initial training on how to use them, hopefully sooner than later,” Masure said.
Main Street Arts Board Chair Susan Still explained that the gift of an AED was huge, as they have creative aging programs that involve a large over 60 population.
“We partner with Senior Solutions and have free lunch every Tuesday, and around that time we have free classes for people over 60,” Still said. “Not only do we have a big population of people over 60 in Vermont in general, we especially have a lot of older people at Main Street Arts. Of course, a lot of older people have heart conditions.”
Still explained that Bellows Falls Fire Chief Shaun McGinnis reached out to Main Street Arts to ask if they would be interested in an AED. She said this was huge, because they are costly and certainly not something they could include in their budget.
“Boy are we grateful,” Still said. “We figured out the proper place to install it and they will be able to train us on how to identify a heart attack and use an AED.”
Rockingham Parks and Recreation Director Ryan Stoodley said the AED could be a life saver, and it is something any recreation facility should have. Fortunately, over his 16 years at the department there has never been a need, but he has been to a meeting where there was a cardiac arrest and an AED was used. He said that all the lifeguards at the recreation center are first aid/CPR certified and are trained to use an AED.
“I have been looking into this every year because it is a pretty expensive price item, and we do have a pretty good need for it with adult swim times,” said Stoodley. “We have people who have retired in their 60s, 70s and 80s. This will be good to have in case we need to use it. Better to have it and not use it, instead of needing to use it but not have it.”
Stoodley added, “This is one of those things that I should have pressed to get years ago, but they are pricey to get. But now these guys worked their tails off to get these out to organizations like us in the community, and that is just awesome.”
