Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – Sudden cardiac arrest remains the leading cause of natural death in the United States, claiming over 1,000 lives each day. A new device will soon be on all Springfield Fire Department engines thanks to a donation from Medics First.

A demonstration of the ResQCPR System, developed by ZOLL Medical Corporation, was held at the fire station on Capitol Avenue Thursday.

Medics First Regional CEO Greg Chance said “It’s all about compressions, moving the blood through the heart and up to the brain.  The device improves the ability for survival and the odds of a patients walking out of the hospital neurologically intact.”

Fire Chief Ed Canny said Medics First and SFD have been conducting joint training on the system over the past few months. The units help crews perform CPR in a more effective way, he said, providing better recoil and a number of other things so all of our providers can deliver the best level of care to the citizens of Springfield.

According to Chance, Medics First invested approximately $30,000 for the initial deployment of the CPR units. They will also cover the cost of single-use ResQPOD ITDs that improves circulation by regulating airflow during CPR.

The benefit of having the devices on board fire each of the SFD engines allows fire fighters to implement life-saving CPR using the devices before EMS arrives on the scene. Medics First has used this system for over two years, achieving more than double the national survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests.