MASON, Mich. — The Ingham Township Fire Department is fundraising for a life-saving CPR machine called a LUCAS device. It maintains chest compressions for firefighters and EMTs and that allows them to focus on other life saving support.
"It does all the work for you, instead of having to do compression's where you are taking your person, trying to find the right placement. Going and doing that for two minutes, just one person that can be exhausting," said Ingham Townhip Fire Department Cpt. Kellen Gailey.
The machine is battery operated, and with just a few clicks, it can maintain compression's for up to four hours.
"It will do it in the correct ratio of 30 compressions to two breaths or just continuous, which frees up myself, if I'm the only one responding, or if we only have two people, it allows this to do the work for us while we're to do other life saving things," said Gailey.
Devices like this are crucial for sudden cardiac arrests. A similar device was used to revive Buffalo Bill's safety Damar Hamlin when he suffered cardiac arrest after being tackled during a game back in January.
"When you look at high school athletics or anything of that nature, community events, you have all sorts of age ranges, so when a device like this might not work for an infant, but typically, 10 years and older. You could have grandpa and grandma at a football game and something happens in the stands or something could happen out on the field, and either way, you have a wonderful device that's going to be able to help save lives," said Gailey.
A person is placed on the back board of the device and locked in according to their size. Because of this, it can continue compressions during transportation.
"And when a responding ambulance comes to one of our scenes, this is already in work, we, this goes just right with the ambulance to the hospital, and they don't have to think twice," said Gailey.
The township has started a GoFundMe for a new LUCAS device, which costs a pretty penny.
"It runs between 21-22 thousand dollars. There's warranties and things like that, so I think our total number is $27,000," said Gailey.
The department has raised just under half the cost.
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