Comprehensive safety kits will be provided to classrooms across Allen County courtesy of donations from companies working on a wind farm project.
The companies contributed $21,000 to buy 385 Stop the Bleed packets. The packets contain items such as a tourniquet and gauze to stop or reduce bleeding in an emergency situation. In situations like a mass shooting or natural disaster, where victims could lose mass amounts of blood quickly, the equipment will help staunch the bleeding until emergency response help can arrive.
During the mass shooting at Columbine High School and a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., victims died from bleeding before help arrived, Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy told members of a Safe Schools Committee. But casualties likely were reduced at a shooting scene at a 2017 concert in Las Vegas because military veterans in the audience knew how to stop bleeding.
You can have people inside a scene who are trained to help, he said.
The county has about 25 instructors at area schools who can teach others how to use the packets, Angie Murphy, 911 Communications director and a member of the Safe Schools committee, said.
The committee discussed the matter with representatives of Black & McDonald, a Toronto-based company overseeing construction of a wind energy farm in eastern Allen County. They donated $15,000 and encouraged subcontractors to donate as well. RES Systems and Sanderfoot Wind & Excavating each pitched in $3,000 for a total of $21,000. Another company also has offered a donation but the committee has not yet received the money.
Angie Murphy praised Black & McDonalds commitment to working with county officials.
They have been so involved in everything in our community, even attending local events while they are here. Their dedication to Allen County and our youth is amazing, she said.
