IRMO, S.C. —
The Richland Library system received over $16,000 in a grant from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
The grant was used to buy each branch automated external defibrillators accessories, helping protect the more than 40,000 visitors and 1,000 staff and volunteers that come through the library each month.
"If we have anyone that suffers from cardiac arrest while they're in here and if our customers are able to grab that AED, just that success rate pretty much doubles, triples, when you have an AED in your location" safety manager Chiquita Singlely told us. "We have so many customers that come in, in all of our locations, so having that AED, seeing it on the wall, knowing that it's there in case something happens I think its very comforting to our customers.
Two staff members from each branch are being trained in first aid/CPR and how to the AED, making the library safe for all types of emergency.
Usually these awards go to law enforcement or fire stations, but this is the first time it’s ever gone to a safety program in a public library system.
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