“AS A member of the public, you probably walk by emergency equipment a thousand times a day and don’t even realise what it is,” says Bill Mullen of the Finglas Responders.
“It’s awareness we need to raise here, the buildings have emergency support equipment but people don’t know what they are. You see a green and white box on the wall and say ‘what’s that?”
Advocating for increased awareness of emergency response equipment is just one of the many priorities for Finglas local Bill Mullen. A driver by trade but an emergency responder by good nature, Mullen is one of the founding figures of the Finglas Responders; a community based emergency service that provides immediate support to those who endure attacks of cardiac arrest or stroke.
Founded in March 2014, Finglas Responders is a team of 10 PHECC certified volunteers who provide emergency assistance to residents in Finglas, Glasnevin and Ballymun as well as local areas within a four kilometre radius around the centre of Finglas.
Working on a monthly rotating shift pattern, the Responders work in conjunction with the National Ambulance and Dublin Fire Brigade and respond to the same ‘999’ emergency calls as these services.
But unlike the Dublin Fire Brigade and the National Ambulance Service, resources are not rich or as bountiful, and as a result the Responders must make do with one Ambulance between the 10 volunteers.
Mullen estimates that the team roughly responds to around six or seven emergency calls per month, and while they do their very best to provide immediate local support to those who need it most, their services can be better supported by the funding of automated external defibrillators or AEDs.
Each AED costs €1,000, with fitting and storage amounting to an additional €600. There are around 1,000 AED’s throughout the county but Finglas Responders are aiming to place five more within the Finglas, Glasnevin and Ballymun areas, which are in desperate need of more according to Mullen.
“We need to raise funds desperately to get these AED’s,” Mullen added.
“We’ve already bought one but we need another four. It’s just funds that we’re trying to push at the moment so we can get these AED’s, get them out and the public can use them.”
Sponsors names will be engraved onto each AED box and locals can donate by contacting the responders at finglasfr@gmail.com.
REPORT: Jack O’Toole