When a heart stops - Seconds Count!

Ashbourne Cardiac First Responders live in the community and provide trained emergency care while the ambulance is on the way.

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Sudden Cardiac Arrest

Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating. Most often it is caused by an arrhythmia (an abnormal heart rhythm) called Ventricular Fibrillation (VF) that prevents the heart pumping blood effectively. If treated in minutes with a defibrillator VF survival rates can be greatly improved. Dispatched by the ambulance service, community first responders can be on scene in minutes providing life-saving treatment.

Shift Assignments

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You can Volunteer!

Sign up for training HERE ...

Upcoming events are listed in the green area below.

Members Check Your Schedule

You can check your schedule and sign up for shifts at scheduler.ashbournecfr.org.

We need your money ...

ACFR is a volunteer group funded through donations. You can DONATE SECURELY ONLINE HERE ...

CFR - How It Works

It is not possible for any Ambulance Service to have trained responders within minutes of every place in the country. When a heart attack causes a heart to stop a responder must be there in 5 to 8 minutes. After that the victim has almost no chance of surviving.

Community First Responders sign up for one or two shifts per month to be on call. During their shift they must be in Ashbourne and available to respond, but otherwise go on as normal. If a 999 (or 112) call is placed for a cardiac arrest or other major medical emergency the National Ambulance Service will dispatch an ambulance and Ashbourne CFR. Once trained and Garda vetted an ACFR Responder can sign up for as many shifts as they like.

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