Catoosa County Fire Dept. offers a free certification CPR course

FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. (WDEF) – As we head into 2025, Catoosa County’s volunteer firefighters are taking their CPR recertification class.

Lieutenant Brian Mangum explains that it is mandatory that their volunteers take a CPR recertification course to stay up to date on the latest CPR training techniques.

He explains that the Catoosa County Fire Department offers a free course to the public so they can become certified as well.

“So, I’ve been doing this for many years, and this is a great program that Catoosa County offers to the general public. They have CPR courses free of charge. I cannot stress enough how important it is for each individual to learn CPR. Of all those, 71% happen within the home. You never know when you might be presented with the option to use that skill set on somebody. It could be a friend or a family member, so it’s very important to know CPR.”

The statistics were shocking to hear how many emergency cases involved the need for CPR.

During the year 2024, Catoosa County Fire Department responded to over 2,500 rescue or medical calls. Of those, 76 were called in as CPR-in-progress calls.

“Some people are learning CPR for the first time,” firefighter Jerry Lewis adds. “Some of us are recertifying because maybe it’s good to recertify simply because, like everything in life, when you’re put into a situation, having that knowledge secondhand is crucial. That way, when you’re in a situation, you don’t have to really think about or second-guess what you’re supposed to do.”

There have been open discussions among individuals about whether being certified in CPR should be mandatory or not.

“Between mandate and optional, you’re never going to be able to mandate everybody to take CPR,” Lieutenant Mangum says, “but I think it should start in the school system. Everybody should be able to receive CPR in their classes. We teach it to several local schools, their teachers, coaches, etc., and the general public needs to take advantage of the opportunity the county fire department gives to offer these free courses to learn because you never know when you might be presented with the situation to do CPR on either a family member, a friend, or even a stranger at that point.”

To learn more about how to gain your certification in CPR, you can contact the Catoosa County Fire Department’s headquarters at (706)-861-4194, where they will provide the course dates and times.