Members of the community in Denny were given the chance to learn “how to save a life” at Denny fire station.

Working in partnership with Denny District Community Council (DDCC) Neighbourhood Watch, members of the public were invited the fire station to learn life-saving CPR skills.

Crew Manager at Denny fire station, Darren Ryan said: “SFRS is proud to be working in partnership with the British Heart Foundation and DDCC Neighbourhood Watch in a bid to help train as many people as possible in the use of CPR.

“You can become a potential life-saver by taking part in a short training session that takes just 30 minutes. The self-teach DVD and practical session will allow you to possess the skills which could save the life of someone suffering from cardiac arrest.

“Fifteen people were trained at the event and all of them thought it was very worthwhile.”

The British Heart Foundation-donated Call Push Rescue training kits to all 356 of Scotland’s Fire stations including all in the Highland and Islands Area and the Stations now act as a base for local people to learn these vital skills and potentially save someone’s life if they go into cardiac arrest.

It takes just 30 minutes to learn CPR using the Call Push Rescue kit and it’s taught by DVD so there’s no need to organise a trainer. Community groups will be able to contact their local Fire station and arrange a mutually agreeable time to go to a station, watch the DVD and practice with the kit.

According to the Scottish Government, around 3,500 people in Scotland have an attempted resuscitation each year because they have suffered a cardiac arrest outside of hospital, but only 175 people (5%) survive.

When someone goes into cardiac arrest their heart is not pumping properly and every second counts. But performing immediate CPR, as part of the chain of survival, can keep oxygen circulating around the body until the arrival of medical professionals or a defibrillator.

The strategy aims to increase survival rates so that an extra 1000 lives are saved by 2020.