FMFD Is Now Running Monthly CPR Classes at Station No. 1 — First One Is September 12

TITLE: FMFD Is Now Running Monthly CPR Classes at Station No. 1 — First One Is September 12 BODY: If your CPR card expired sometime around the last Olympics — or you've never had one — there's now a monthly class a short drive from almost anywhere in Flower Mound.

The Flower Mound Fire Department has teamed up with the American Heart Association to run CPR/AED classes every month, starting Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Fire Station No. 1. Cost is $50 per student.

The format is the AHA's Heartsaver/AED card course — the standard certification for non-healthcare people who want a credential that holds up. Coaches, teachers, parents of kids in youth sports, anyone who has thought I should really know how to do this. That's the audience.

The reason to bother: CPR can double or even triple a person's chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest. Most cardiac arrests happen at home or in public, where a paramedic is minutes out and whoever is standing closest is the only option until help arrives.

Four hours on a Saturday morning. The registration link is listed on the town's calendar at flowermound.gov.

The monthly schedule is what makes this different from the usual scramble. CPR certifications expire, and finding a local Saturday class has typically meant driving to Grapevine or Lewisville or tracking down a private instructor. This one is run by the same department that responds to cardiac calls in town.

If September 12 works, register now and get it done. If it doesn't, the next date will be there.