Leeds man's award for defibrillator funding efforts

Brian Firth won Fundraiser of the Year at the UK Heart Safe Awards last Friday at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate.

He set up his Global CPAD (Community Public Access Defibrillators) Campaign four years ago, and estimates that 88 new life-saving machines have been placed since then.

Mr Firth, 70, said: “I launched it following the death of a customer in Morrisons car park in Guiseley in 2013.

“I had just come off duty as a volunteer Community First Responder with the Yorkshire Ambulance Service 10 minutes earlier.

“I decided to look into the viability of a CPAD and was amazed to find that there were none within eight miles of Guiseley, including Leeds city centre.”

The Global CPAD Campaign allows a logo and text on the cabinet door of a machine, showing their support for the safety of residents and visitors.

Mr Firth hopes to continue with his work for years to come.

He said: “The campaign has gone from strength to strength resulting in parts of the Leeds area now benefiting from a higher coverage than most other communities around the UK. It has been strongly supported by local councils, businesses and charity groups such as Lions Clubs and Rotary Clubs.”

If someone goes into cardiac arrest, 999 call handlers can advise the caller of any nearby CPADs and give them the access code.

UK Heart Safe aims to prevent the deaths of the 12 young people who die due to a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) each week.