Mayor Kate Wdowiasz accepted the donation for a Lucas 3 Chest Compression System, during a ceremony at Dunkirk Fire Department headquarters on Eagle Street. The same kind of device was used to revive Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin when he went into cardiac arrest on the field during a January 2023 game.

Wells’ Brian Ardillo called the donation “a part of our commitment to the community.” The device “will help save the lives of community members,” he said.

He mentioned Wells’ ongoing ice cream plant expansion in Dunkirk, promising “the most advanced ice cream manufacturing facility in the world.”

After Wdowiasz thanked Wells for their support and Dunkirk firefighters for their efforts, Fire Chief Mike Edwards talked a little bit about the Lucas device.

Dunkirk firefighters demonstrate the Lucas Chest Compression system, which essentially does automated CPR.

“A few years back, we noticed the Lucas device was starting to show up in local EMS agencies,” he said. It improves the survival rate for cardiac patients by 30%, he noted.

The Dunkirk Fire Department acquired one and used it within a day after receiving it.

“Adding a second device was on our list,” Edwards said. That’s because the department will occasionally get two cardiac calls at around the same time.

The device’s mechanized chest compressions save lives because “to do consistent, constant, uninterrupted CPR on a patient is almost humanly impossible,” he said.

Edwards made sure to additionally thank Wells for allowing his firefighters to train for a week on properties later demolished to make way for the expansion.

The Lucas device was demonstrated by Dunkirk firefighters, then everyone helped themselves to Wells ice cream sandwiches and cones.