Park defibrillators for park facilities in Blind River are still being considered even though council agrees the approach should be different from a request to consider permanent placement of the life-saving equipment at facilities and parks.
Council discussed the possibility of defibrillators at its first meeting in June after a request to consider having the equipment was made a newly-formed seniors’ baseball league.
However, the town purchasing the expensive defibrillators and setting them up at different locations seems to have been dropped after council received a response to the plan from fire chief Ken Raymond. He felt having defibrillators permanently at some town facilities could raise some problems.
“It would be very difficult to install defibrillators at our town parks since they would need to be accessible at all times,” Raymond said in a report to council. “With the vandalism that we have had in the past, town park bathrooms set on fire, there is a good chance of these expensive pieces of equipment being tampered with or stolen.”
The chief also said having the equipment openly available for public use of tampering could involve other problems.
“There is also a safety issue that needs to be considered,” he said. “Since they need to be accessible at all times there is nothing stopping someone from playing with them. If a shock is accidentally given to someone, it can lead to permanent damage or death.”
Instead the chief suggested council purchase a defibrillator which could be signed out by clubs and groups who need it for different town events. According to Raymond, if council decides on purchasing and loaning the equipment out groups would have to sign a contract stating they would be liable for any damage.
Council responded favourably to the suggestion by Raymond. The issue will be discussed as part of 2019 budget talks.