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February 10, 2025

Where Every Family Matters

Brentwood Firefighters to Offer Free CPR Classes

Participants 16 or older can attend a single two-hour class to learn these lifesaving skills this February.

This February, the Brentwood Fire & Rescue Department will offer free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes at the John P. Holt Brentwood Library. CPR is a lifesaving technique that is useful in many emergencies, including heart attack or near drowning, when someone’s heart has stopped beating.

Classes will be offered at 6:30 p.m. every Friday in the month of February. Participants only need to attend a single two-hour class to learn these lifesaving skills. This program is geared toward anyone 16 or older.

Each class will offer training on infant, child, and adult CPR. Participants will be taught “hands only” CPR (no mouth-to-mouth breathing). This class will use the American Heart Association’s (AHA) “Friends & Family” curriculum; therefore, no CPR card will be issued. More information can be found on the AHA website.

For information or to sign up for the free CPR. classes, contact Brentwood Firefighter Scott Barnes at scott.barnes@brentwoodtn.gov or 615-371-2200 ext. 4523. You can also register online and see other events happening at the Brentwood Library by visiting the library’s calendar.

In addition to CPR, an automated external defibrillator (AED) – a portable device – is often used to quickly shock someone’s heart and try to save their life if they collapse, have no pulse, and stop breathing. This condition is known as sudden cardiac arrest. AEDs are not a substitute for CPR, as anyone trained to operate an AED must also be trained in CPR. Early CPR is a critical step in resuscitation to help reestablish the circulation of blood and the delivery of oxygen to the body.

You can learn more from Brentwood Fire Lt. Mike McCutcheon about how this device can help save lives in this YouTube video:

 

About the Author

Michael Aldrich

Michael Aldrich is Nashville Parent's Managing Editor and a Middle Tennessee arts writer. He and his wife, Alison, are the proud parents of 4-year-old Ezra and baby Norah.