Professional firefighters from the Fairview Fire Department in Poughkeepsie are geared up to provide training to the public on a 2015 White House initiative called "Stop the Bleed." The one-hour long training is a response to recent traumatic events including the Mandalay Bay massacre and the Parkland High School shooting in Florida.

National Stop the Bleed Day is scheduled for March 31 according to the website stopthebleedday.org. The website indicates that "the top cause of death in trauma is bleeding. Twenty percent of people who have died from traumatic injuries could have survived with quick bleeding control." Fairview Firefghter/EMT-B Christopher Lewis said of the local training "supporting this national campaign is one of Fairview's many proactive efforts in helping to ensure community safety."

Lewis, who also serves as the department's Public Education Coordinator continued "even with an average response time of three and one-half minutes, often times civilian bystanders are the first aid a person receives in an emergency. It only makes sense that our public has access to this bleeding control training to help save a life until emergency responders can provide care.

Fairview's professional firefighters will be offering the one-hour long training to groups of three to five people at a time, by appointment. To schedule the training, individuals can contact the department at 845-849-9419 or via email at PublicEducation@FairviewFD.net.

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