Longboat Key Fire Rescue receives CPR device through state grant

At the start of September, the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department received an electronic device that will change how they respond to patients needing CPR. 

The department added the LUCAS 3 CPR device to its equipment thanks to a state grant that covered most of the $16,314 needed for the device. 

The LUCAS 3 CPR device, manufactured by Stryker, is marketed as “Your partner in advanced resuscitation,” according to the company’s website. LUCAS stands for Lund University Cardiopulmonary Assist System. 

This device gives automated chest compressions by an arm with a rubber end, designed to be high-performance and less strenuous on the victim. 

“By increasing provider safety, avoiding fatigue over long durations and reducing transport risks by allowing caregivers to sit belted, the LUCAS device can help calm the scene and provide an extra pair of hands,” the company website says.

When used, the firefighter paramedic gently lifts the patient so the bottom part of the device can slide underneath the victim’s back, then the LUCAS device is strapped to the victim’s chest. That’s when it starts delivering the chest compressions. 

According to EMS Chief Martin Szalbirak of the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department, the device is also helpful because it eliminates the need to switch CPR providers every two minutes, which is required when a human is doing CPR. 

Szalbirak said the LUCAS device is also handy because it frees up another person — who would have been doing CPR — to be helping on other life-saving tasks and, with the device, CPR can be done while moving. 

The device also allows for easier and better quality CPR while in a moving rescue boat. The Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department decided to keep the device at the south fire station so it’s more accessible for marine rescue calls. 

According to Szalbirak, some neighboring agencies, like the City of Venice, have a LUCAS device. This is a first for Longboat Key. 

The Longboat Key crew received the device at the start of September and all personnel went through online training courses before receiving hands-on training with a company representative that visited the Longboat Key fire station. 

That training was completed in mid-September, and the device is now officially ready for use by the Longboat Key Fire Rescue Department.