[sunnyatlast]

Originally Posted by newguyintv

Nice to see the expression of a rational perspective rather than the emotion that fuels so many posters on TOTV. Is anyone really surprised that placing hundreds of $1500 electronic devices in plain sight would attract thieves?

Nice mockery of rational people who know the paramedic-fire squads are often already out on a call, and can't just leave in the middle of another patient's or accident victims' emergency!

For those who are willing to think about the value of having trained neighbor responders with AEDs to bring and use in 2-3 minutes, GPS trackers can be placed in the units and I think it's been done by some neighborhoods.

[Mikeod]

Originally Posted by newguyintv

Nice to see the expression of a rational perspective rather than the emotion that fuels so many posters on TOTV. Is anyone really surprised that placing hundreds of $1500 electronic devices in plain sight would attract thieves?

That many neighborhoods are willing to undertake the expense, training, and, apparently, the risk to set up a program that gives their friends and neighbors a better chance of surviving sudden cardiac events is part of what makes this community great. Someone posted on the thread about Morse "what is a life worth?". That's how my neighborhood feels about our AED program. As posted above, you never know when the paramedics may be out on another call, especially this time of year when the population peaks. Minutes count.

And remember, it will be there for you, should you need it.

[Mikeod]

At 1:55 PM today, I was alerted by ReadyAlert, who handles notifying our AED group, of a cardiac/respiratory arrest in our neighborhood. My wife and I grabbed the AED and raced in our cart to the address. I was first on the scene. An occupant of the home was on the phone with the 911 operator. I evaluated the victim and the paramedics arrived about 4-5 minutes after I did.

Fortunately, it was not cardiac arrest and the AED was not needed. The patient was transported to the hospital. But if it had been cardiac arrest, having the AED there so quickly would have improved the chances of survival greatly.

You'll never convince me the program is superfluous and unnecessary.

[gomoho]

GPS tracker is an excellent idea - not only would it recover the equipment it would catch the thief.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by gap2415

Is there a way to permanently mark these devices so that they cannot be easily resold?

Can they be set some where with an alarm system and photo of whomever takes it?

Let's think solutions and stop this and protect our beautiful community from those few who think we are easy targets. We are not! We have a lifetime of experience.

Hi gap, we thought we had done nearly everything possible but how wrong we were. I have discussed our stolen AED with a lot of people and so far most don't think there is much of a market for stolen AED's. In our case, any alarms or cameras would have to be battery operated and becomes a problem in itself. I am not certain this particular thief had the intelligence to know what he was stealing probably was of no value to him.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by tommy steam

Just asking, did the locks used have shielded shackles?

We did not have the shielded locks. We have purchased shielded locks for our remaining AED and the one that will be purchased as a replacement. We thought our best deterrent was having the AED's located directly under a streetlight.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by newguyintv

Nice to see the expression of a rational perspective rather than the emotion that fuels so many posters on TOTV. Is anyone really surprised that placing hundreds of $1500 electronic devices in plain sight would attract thieves?

We aren't talking TV or computers here. It was a defibrillator used to start a victims heart. It would be extremely difficult to sell a used AED. I question the intelligence of a thief who steals a device that he cannot use or that he probably cannot sell.

[Warren Kiefer]

Originally Posted by Mikeod

At 1:55 PM today, I was alerted by ReadyAlert, who handles notifying our AED group, of a cardiac/respiratory arrest in our neighborhood. My wife and I grabbed the AED and raced in our cart to the address. I was first on the scene. An occupant of the home was on the phone with the 911 operator. I evaluated the victim and the paramedics arrived about 4-5 minutes after I did.

Fortunately, it was not cardiac arrest and the AED was not needed. The patient was transported to the hospital. But if it had been cardiac arrest, having the AED there so quickly would have improved the chances of survival greatly.

You'll never convince me the program is superfluous and unnecessary.

I applaud you and your wife. While I don't hope for "that" alert, I am excited about the possibility of saving someone's life. I hope those persons less excited about AED programs, read your comments.

[drcar]

A lesson to be learn, locks are made for honest people! The idea of a GPS is a good idea BUT they can be removed and thrown away. Criminals will stay one step ahead or at least try to. When you put out a piece of equipment that can be stolen and sold, IT WILL BE. We have open paths into the villages and crime will happen if there is a profit in it. Ideas need to be discussed and solutions will have to be put in place, again locks are made for honest people.