Citizens have the opportunity to learn compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation, Saturday, Oct. 10, during the Archbold Fire Department open house.

CPR also will be taught that day at each of the Fulton County firehouses, and at the Life Flight helicopter ambulance hanger at the Fulton County Airport.

The free training takes about 45 minutes. Classes start at 9 am, 10 am, and 11 am.

Rod Cheney, a Fulton County paramedic with the Archbold based ALS-1 rescue unit, and Fulton County Emergency Medical Service director, said compression-only CPR omits mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

It’s been discovered that if a person suffers a sudden cardiac arrest (where the heart stops beating), there is enough oxygen left in the bloodstream for a person to survive four to six minutes.

Providing chest compressions to keep blood flowing through the body while the heart is stopped takes advantage of the oxygen supply.

“The number one thing that makes the difference in the survival of cardiac arrest is the action of bystanders,” Cheney said.