SEQUIM — As the 45th annual Rotary Salmon Bake got underway, about 150 people lined up to get their salmon meals, and 20 were taught CPR.
Close to 800 people purchased tickets for the day-long event at the Sequim Boys & Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St.
Event chairwoman Rochelle McHugh said she expected the event to raise $7,000 to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs, Sequim youth activities, Scouting programs and Rotary service projects.
Music was provided by public radio station KSQM FM 91.5.
Menu items included salmon, baked beans, cole slaw, beverages and an ice-cream dessert.
A crew of Rotarians baked about 400 pounds of wild Alaskan Keta salmon over an open alder fire behind the club.
“I think the salmon’s quite good,” said Ginny Rheinheimer of Port Angeles.
People who arrived to enjoy the meal also were greeted by information and booths
Two firefighter/paramedics from Clallam County Fire District No. 3 hoped to increase public awareness of “bystander CPR,” a simple form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation that has changed survival rates
“We want to teach it to 20,000 people in the next two years,” said firefighter/paramedic Joel Bower.
Bower, with fellow firefighter/paramedic Neil Borggard, had on hand child and adult-size CPR dummies and offered the five-minute training sessions to anyone who was willing.
People who go through the brief training do not get CPR training cards or certification — but they walk away with the knowledge that they can do something more than just watch in an emergency situation,
Borggard said.
In Seattle, where an intense public awareness and training effort has trained 80 percent of the public, the survival rate for people who can be helped through CPR went from 20 percent, about the same as Sequim’s survival rate, to more than 40 percent, he added.
Fire District No. 3 also offers traditional CPR and first-aid classes for $10, on 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month, Borggard said, adding that for more information, the public can phone 360-683-4242.
Nearby, Jamye Wisecup, program coordinator for the Clallam County Community Response Team, was offering information on training for neighborhood disaster safety, and a team of volunteers from Welfare for Animals Guild shared information on their mission.
“This was the first time we have tried this,” McHugh said. “We wanted to give people something to do while they are here.”
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
