COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT CONNECTS TO LIFE SAVING APP

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY – The County of San Luis Obispo Fire Department (CAL FIRE SLO) has begun using PulsePoint, an app designed to empower everyday citizens to save a life. 

The department encourages anyone with an Android or iOS device who is trained in hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to download the free PulsePoint app.

"This app helps us improve public safety and also empowers our residents to help someone in need nearby," said County Fire Chief Scotty Jalbert. "It also alerts residents when there is a fire in the county, which is important if there is a future need to evacuate.”

When CAL FIRE SLO receives a call of someone suffering from a heart attack in a public place, dispatchers will send an alert to the PulsePoint app as they dispatch first responders to the scene. Anyone near the scene who also downloaded the app will be alerted and can then provide life-saving CPR.

PulsePoint also notifies app users of the closest publicly accessible automated external defibrillator (AED) by displaying a map in relation to the user’s location. Special training is not required to operate an AED; the automated device will guide the rescuer through the process step-by-step. Public access AEDs are registered with the County Emergency Medical Services Agency.

With this new program, PulsePoint will now serve all Fire Agencies within the unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County in addition to the Cities of Morro Bay, Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, and Pismo Beach. Citizens can now also monitor incident activity within the county. The CPR/AED notification only activates if the incident is happening in a public place and does not activate for residential addresses.

Download the free PulsePoint Respond and PulsePoint AED apps and follow SLOCO.

To learn more, go to https://calfireslo.org/pulse-point.