Every year, the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) EMS Section, with the support of the PulsePoint Foundation, recognizes fire-service-based EMS systems that play a key role in improving out-of-hospital response and treatment of heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.
Two Heart Safe Community awards are presented, one for a small/mid-sized community with a population of 100,000 or less and one for a large community with a population more than 100,000.
This year’s winner for the small/mid-sized community is Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, FL and the large community winner is Sarasota County Fire Department, FL.
According to the IAFC, both departments have made significant investments in preventing, recognizing and treating heart disease and sudden cardiac arrest.
The winners will be recognized at the Fire-Rescue Med (FRM) conference in Las Vegas, NV on May 5-7. Fire-Rescue Med is the premier fire-based EMS conference hosted by the IAFC’s EMS section. Registration for the conference is still open.
Annually, communities can apply for the Heart Safe Community award through the IAFC’s EMS section.
Applicants demonstrate how they have improved the quality of out-of-hospital resuscitation through bystander CPR, dispatcher-assisted CPR and nearby AED recommendation, citizen alerting, AED deployment (PAD programs), high performance resuscitation and data collection and quality improvement initiatives.
The IAFC has announced the winners of the Heart Safe Community Award 2025; Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, FL and Sarasota County Fire Department, FL.
