Oct 15, 2006 By Christine Haines 2 min read

Free first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation classes are being offered to area residents through a grant to the Fayette and Greene County Emergency Management Agencies from the Duke Fayette Energy Facility. The Masontown power plant is underwriting the cost of training classes in Masontown, McClellandtown and Carmichaels in November. The classes will cover first aid, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator training. Participants will receive a two-year American Heart Association certification upon completion of the course.

“Duke has always been very interested in being a good neighbor and we’re very safety conscious and this helps us make our community safer,” said William Day of Duke Energy.

Day said Duke Energy, which operates a 620-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant near Masontown, holds annual first aid/CPR/AED training for its employees.

“We think everyone should have these skills, and we’d like to assist in that,” Day said.

Scott Dolan of the Fayette County EMA office said a similar class offered to area farmers last year through a Department of Agriculture grant was filled to capacity. He immediately thought of that class when Duke Energy approached him about doing a community program.

“Usually a course like this can cost $40 to $50. This course is totally free. They’ll get a book and they’ll get a card and light refreshments will be served at each site,” Dolan said.

Each of the three sites can accommodate up to 40 participants, Dolan said, and the classes are open to anyone age 12 or older.

“The classes range from six to eight hours, depending on the amount of interaction in the group,” Dolan said.

The course will be offered Saturday, Nov. 4, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Masontown Volunteer Fire Department in a one-day course.

It will also be offered over two evenings at the McClellandtown Volunteer Fire Department Nov. 6 and Nov. 9, and at the Carmichaels Volunteer Fire Department Nov. 15 and 16.

The evening classes will run from 6:30 until 10 p.m. each night.

“The fire departments generously donated the use of their fire halls, which also helps,” Dolan said.

The classes will be conducted by the West Virginia University Center for Rural Emergency Medicine.

Pre-registration is required for the classes and class size is limited.

To register, contact Ann Herrington by e-mail at aherrington@hsc.wvu.edu or by phone at 1-304-293-6682.