Cathedral City Fire & EMS Department hosting community event this weekend, teaching life saving skills

A community event is taking place this weekend with the Cathedral City Fire and EMS Department where you can learn both CPR and how to stop the bleed.

The event takes place at 10AM at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on 32100 Desert Vista Road. Those interested in attending can RSVP by emailing the CCFD at Fireinfo@cathedralcity.gov. 

At the event, you can learn chest compressions, which can significantly increase a persons chance of survival if done ahead of paramedic arrival.

"Learning and applying the skillsets learned in regard to CPR will not only help our loved ones, but the community as a whole to have a higher chance of surviving medical emergencies," said Maurice Salazar, an Engineer Paramedic with CCFD.

And the number one cause of preventable death after injury is bleeding. Stopping the loss of blood before paramedics arrive to a scene could help anybody during a given emergency.

"On Saturday we're going to be teaching the three methods of stop the bleed which are direct pressure, use of a tourniquet and wound packing," said Salazar. "These are easy skills for people to learn, and could come in handy anywhere."

This event will help our community support each other in the event of an emergency. You can help to save a life. "Our intent with this class is to provide education to citizens to empower the community they live in," said Salazar.