BERWYN, PA - As the school year officially ended earlier this month, the Berwyn Fire Company worked closely with the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District to train teachers and administrators in the program called Stop the Bleed. Working in partnership with Paoli Hospital Trauma Outreach and support from the Chester County Safe Schools Coordinator, over 500 individuals were trained.

Stop the Bleed is a national training initiative that came about after the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012. Based on input from the military, first responders, medical and research groups, the class was designed for civilians. The ultimate goal of the class is to give individuals the knowledge on how to extend the short timeline of life and death in the event of heavy bleeding. The #1 cause of preventable death after an injury is bleeding.

The class covers 2 goals and 3 skills. The goals are recognizing life threatening bleeding and how to render care. Also included are safety concepts and the importance of calling 9-1-1 as soon as possible. The 3 skills learned are heavy direct pressure, packing large wounds and applying a commercial tourniquet. These skills are practiced using realistic training materials and fake limbs.

While the likelihood of encountering heavy bleeding is more likely to happen at home and not due to an act of violence, Berwyn Fire Company commends the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District for its efforts in providing life saving training in our schools. Due to the changes in our society and schools being a target for violence, the more knowledge the staff has to provide care for victims, the better our community is prepared.

In addition to Stop the Bleed, the Berwyn Fire Company provides emergency services and public education to every school in the T/E community, not including the numerous private schools and day cares that operate throughout the community.

Berwyn Fire Company has several Stop the Bleed instructors and is available to teach your school, group or family. The class is roughly an hour. Please contact EMS Captain Michael Baskin by email at emscaptain@berwynfireco.org to schedule a training session.

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The Berwyn Fire Company is a registered 501c3 non-profit combination organization that provides primary fire, EMS, and rescue services to 30,338 citizens between Tredyffrin Township and Easttown Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. To learn more about the Company visit www.berwynfireco.org.