Six new defibrillators a community lifeline

Port Hedland International Airport has teamed up with the local St John WA branch to distribute lifesaving defibrillators for public use across the town in key locations.

Residents will now have access to six new defibrillators 24-hours a day, taking the total number of life-saving machines across the region to 10.

The equipment comes as part of $15,000 worth of PHIA funding for community initiatives, including shirts for ambulance volunteers and a community barbecue trailer.

St John Hedland station manager Shauna Quirk said the collaboration was essential in helping first responders treat out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, which the organisation reported as the leading cause of death in Western Australia.

“For every minute that that person is not defibrillated, they lose a 10 per cent chance of survival,” she said.

The new defibrillators will be at the Port and South Hedland Police Stations, Dome Cafe, Port Hedland Yacht Club, the Homestead Centre on Throssell Road, and South Hedland Lotteries House.