High Springs Fire Department to host three training sessions 

High Springs Fire Department truck sign
Courtesy of City of High Springs

The High Springs Fire Department (HSFD) will host three community events in the coming weeks to teach about car seat installation, stopping uncontrolled bleeding and CPR. 

The educational events are part of the department’s new initiative to bolster community outreach and provide meaningful training. 

In partnership with UF Health, the first event will cover car seats and run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Farmers’ Market Pavilion (23517 NW 185th Rd.).  

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Across the nation, the majority of car seats are installed incorrectly. At the event, UF Health Shands Pediatric Trauma Services will check car seats for correct installation and provide demonstrations.  

Jordyn Zyngier, pediatric trauma outreach coordinator for UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital, said a correctly installed car seat can reduce the chance of death by up to 71%.  

“However, research shows that, on average, three out of four car seats are installed incorrectly across the country,” Zyngier said in a press release. “Our mission is to help families make informed choices to ensure their child’s safety on the road.” 

Appointments are required, and you can sign up for free here. You’ll need one appointment per child/car seat, and for a complete checkup, you’ll want to have the child, car seat and car at the event. 

“Our goal is to educate and assist families in keeping their children safe on the road,” said HSFD Capt. Kevin Pearson in a press release. “We encourage everyone who uses a car seat to take advantage of this free opportunity.” 

The second event will cover stopping uncontrolled bleeding, the No. 1 cause of preventable death by injury according to HSFD. The event will happen at 6 p.m., Jan. 22 in the High Springs Civic Center (19107 NW 240th St.).  

The STOP THE BLEED training, also in partnership with UF Health, will teach attendees how to, well, stop the bleed. You can reserve your seat online. UF Health will hold more STOP THE BLEED training in the coming months in Gainesville and other Alachua County locations. You can find the full schedule here. 

Lastly, the department will have hands-only CPR and AED training. The event will be at 11 a.m. on Feb. 5 at Catherine Taylor Park (18100 Douglass St.).  

The event is for basic information only, and no CPR cards will be issued. You can sign up here. 

Kevin Mangan, HSFD public information officer, said hands-only CPR has proven to be incredibly effective.  

He said the fire department, supported by High Springs residents for 112 years, wants to be proactive about helping the community instead of only responding to incidents. These first events, he said, are the department dipping its toe into community risk reduction through sessions.  

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