Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service held a second First Aid training session in Millhouse village hall on 19th February. Trainers Kasey Grainger, who manages six fire stations in Cumbria, and Dawn Coates, an on-call firefighter from Penrith, were supported by members of Caldbeck’s First Responder team.

We learnt the basics – how to look after an unconscious breathing person, and what to do if someone stops breathing including how to administer CPR and how to use a defibrillator. We also learnt what to do if someone chokes and how to deal with serious wounds.

One of the shop volunteers in attendance, Iona Nicholson, said: “The instructors who ran these sessions were very reassuring and gave us the confidence to assist should we find ourselves in a situation where we could help someone in need.  I especially appreciated the instruction around CPR and the use of the defibrillator as it made very clear the importance of speed in these situations. Thank you for organising these sessions and I hope you run more in the future as everyone should be encouraged to learn these skills.”

Kasey said she was very happy to support the community, and is planning to run more sessions for the shop volunteers and the general public in the coming months in collaboration with the HNM Shop team.