Éric Brunelle worked as a firefighter for the City of Montreal and trained first responders. He knew the importance of having automated external defibrillators (AED) easy to access in case of an emergency.
But when he suffered a heart attack on May 11, in the heart of the mountains at Parc des Sommets in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, there were none around.
The park, which is a popular site for hiking and cycling, has trails totalling about 150 kilometres.
His partner, Chantal Bédard, was there when he collapsed.
“It felt like I had too much time to think that day,” said Chantal Bédard, Brunelle’s partner who was by his side when he collapsed.
“My only question for everyone at the time was: Are there defibrillators?” she told Radio-Canada.
Brunelle’s death prompted Bédard to turn her grief into action.
“The thing he would always say is, ‘If we have a chance to save someone’s life in the first few minutes [after an incident], you need a defibrillator,” Bédard recalled.
“The day he died, I told a lot of people: Next May 11, there will be defibrillators across the mountain.”
5 AEDs across park
In the months following Brunelle’s death, Bédard raised several thousands of dollars for the purpose of AEDs.
The City of Bromont jumped on board and chipped in $7,300 to purchase five of them: Two mobile units and three that are located on the walking and biking trails during the summer season.
“I love seeing citizen initiatives like these ones,” said Louis Villeneuve, the mayor of Bromont, where Parc des Sommets is located. “We didn’t hesitate to get in on this.”
Alain Planchamp, who manages the Parc des Sommets, says it’s not only a large piece of land, it’s also far from the city centre.
“So we’re talking about between 35 and 40 minutes of waiting for first responders to get there,” he said.
Training on how to use the AEDs will also be available to people who frequent the park.
“I am speechless. I can’t express how grateful I am,” said Bédard.
Paul Westcott of St. John Ambulance walks CBC’s Carolyn Stokes through the symptoms of a heart attack — some you might not know — and how to do CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) which just recently saved the life of a 42-year-old St. John’s man.
Based on the reporting of Radio-Canada’s Marion-Bérubé and Zoé Bellehumeur, written by Antoni Nerestant