A total of 15 defibrillators were recently purchased by the Police Department to outfit not only the patrol vehicles, but a number of other city departments as well.

The effort to purchase the new defibrillators was led by Lt. Dennis Mernka.

He said the Police Department has had defibrillators in its patrol vehicles for a number of years, but last fall they were notified by the company that provided the old defibrillators that they were obsolete and were to be taken out of service immediately.

He said this announcement caught the Police Department off-guard.

Mernka offered to help the department try to get new defibrillators.

“A lot of research went into it,” Mernka said. “The reason being is we wanted to make sure our units were, of course, good units, but we also wanted to make sure they were compatible with Fort Dodge Fire, Trinity Regional, area emergency departments, and that they were a good machine.”

After consulting with the Fort Dodge Fire Department and UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center, Mernka decided to contact the same company that had provided both of them with their defibrillators.

He said he was able to get a good deal for defibrillators from the company, but still needed a way to pay for them.

Mernka said a $5,000 grant from the Fort Dodge Community Foundation was instrumental in getting the defibrillators paid for, but he added that area businesses also stepped up to the plate.

Mernka went around to local businesses explaining the project and said many responded positively. That included Rees Truck & Trailer, which matched $1,355 — the price of one unit — that Mernka was able to raise.

In all, Mernka said there were 15 units purchased.

“One for each marked squad car, one for the Blanden, one for the Fort Dodge Library, Fort Dodge Public Works, one here at the Fort Dodge Police Department,” Mernka said.

He added the Fort Dodge Regional Airport also received one.

In fact, Mernka said an officer has already used a defibrillator since the new ones arrived.

Unfortunately, that officer was unable to save that person.

A history of saving lives

Mernka said officers have defibrillators in their vehicles in case they come across a medical emergency.

While rescuers from the Fort Dodge Fire Department and Trinity respond to medical calls, Mernka said, if it’s a life-threatening emergency, officers will respond, as oftentimes, they are closer.

“A lot of times we get there two to three minutes earlier than them,” he said. “Two to three minutes is a very long time, so a lot of times we’re already in the process of CPR when they arrive.”

He estimated that officers have had to use defibrillators between 25 and 30 times.

This includes the very first day the department installed the defibrillators, July 16, 2001.

An article from The Messenger archives said at 1:30 p.m. that day, emergency responders were sent to the Dodger Area Rapid Transit station, located at First Avenue South and Sixth Street, for a report of a “man down” in the bus station.

Then-Fort Dodge Police Officer Mike Halligan and the late Sgt. Bob Webb were the first two responders to arrive.

Officers found the man was not breathing.

Halligan, using the newly-installed defibrillator, successfully revived the man with Webb’s help.

Ivan Metzger, who was the Fort Dodge police chief at the time, said the man was conscious and talking to rescuers when they arrived on scene.

“He was the first one to use it and actually saved a guy’s life,” Mernka said. “And that was the first time we got defibrillators.”