GREECE, N.Y. — Usually, seeing a firetruck parked in front of a church, isn't a good thing. But this time, it happens to be a great learning experience.

“As a member of the St. Charles Parish Council, the conversation had come up at one of our meetings that it had been a while since we’d had some CPR training,” said Annamaria Falzarano, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Greece.  

What You Need To Know

  • According to research published in the National Library of Medicine,  people older than the age of 60 years perform CPR at a lower quality.

  • If CPR is started in the early stages of a cardiac arrest, a person’s chances of survival can be doubled or tripled.

  • Two churches teamed up to learn CPR skills. 

“We’re gonna be teaching hands-only CPR and how to use an AED, automatic external defibrillator,” said Dean Smith, community risk reduction specialist for the Barnard Fire District. 

It's especially good for people like Annamaria.  

“As a grandma myself, to be able to have that skill to be able to react in those first few seconds,” she said. 

When it comes to her 4-year-old granddaughter, she would much rather be safe with skills than sorry without them.  

“We spend a lot of time together and we have a lot of fun together, but again, the whole idea of safety, it just comes to mind when you’re with your family members," she said.

Knowing CPR can make a difference in seconds. 

“If CPR is started in the early stages of a cardiac arrest, a person’s chances of survival can be doubled or tripled,” said Smith. 

That is why Annamaria’s church and the church across the street decided to make it a community event.  

“This idea came about because last year on April 29 my husband had a heart attack, very surprising to all of us, and we were actually supposed to be at an event for church that day,” said Carrie Buri, a parishioner at Bethany Presbyterian Church.  

“I see the churches in the community as the pillars of the community where people naturally gather, so we thought this would be a good place for us to provide that service,” said Falzarano. 

With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the United States, it is never too late in life for someone to learn CPR.

“Many years ago in college, I was a resident advisor and I was able ... it was part of the requirements to do some first aid and CPR," Falzarano said. “Hopefully… we’ll be able to refresh some of those initial first-moment skills that will really make a difference."

Because in the case of heart disease, knowledge is always power.  

“An informed public is a powerful public,” said Falzarano.