The Los Angeles County Fire Department will become the largest safety agency in the United States with mechanical CPR devices on every paramedic unit. The devices provide high-quality, life-sustaining CPR for critical cardiac arrest patients.

Thanks to $1.5 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, along with an additional $240,000 in matching funds from the Los Angeles County Fire Foundation, the LACoFD will become the largest public safety agency in the United States to have mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation devices on every paramedic unit.

The LACoFD plans to receive and deploy the CPR devices by mid-2023; these additional CPR devices will supplement existing resources.

“The AFG award and the Foundation’s match come at a critical time when emergency medical services calls are at an all-time high. Currently, the LACoFD responds to more than 400,000 calls every year, of which more than 5,000 are cardiac arrest emergencies,” said LACoFD Medical Director Dr. Clayton Kazan. “The grant-funded devices will provide high-quality, life-sustaining CPR for patients that are suffering cardiac arrest. With this advanced technology, CPR is mechanically regulated and uninterrupted for critical patients being transported to hospitals.”

In 2018, the LACoFD initially started the Arrive Alive pilot program with only four LUCAS Chest Compression Systems, two donated from the city of West Hollywood and two through a grant from the county of Los Angeles’ Quality and Productivity Commission. Since then, with support from the Foundation and QPC, Arrive Alive has expanded to 27 devices. This grant will enable the Department to deploy mechanical CPR devices to all of the remaining paramedic units across the communities it serves.

“This milestone is one of many efforts over the years where the Department has created, developed and piloted initiatives to continually improve and invest in the delivery of emergency medical services for the residents and communities in our care,” said L.A. County Interim Fire Chief Anthony C. Marrone. “We are always grateful for the generosity of the community as well as the support from elected representatives, the Foundation, and the QPC who help us keep families and individuals healthy and safe.”

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