Foundation Donates 100 Special Evacuation Chairs to Los Angeles Fire Department

LOS ANGELES - The non-profit Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation has donated 100 specially designed Evacuation Stair Chairs to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The sturdy yet lightweight devices will be deployed citywide, enabling LAFD Firefighters and Paramedics to transport patients who weigh up to 500 pounds in multilevel buildings without elevators, narrow hallways and on steep hills.

The state-of-the-art chairs, which have a long service life, are designed for maneuverability over carpet and in confined spaces, allowing for the quick transport of ill and injured persons with safety and comfort.

They can also be deployed in a crisis to move those with special needs. The new Evacuation Stair Chairs prevent back and knee injuries among first responders, an added benefit to the community.

Cedars-Sinai Health System has graciously donated $146,000 to the LAFD Foundation to purchase 73 of the chairs as part of their initiative to improve community health and safety.

According to Captain Chip Cervantes at Fire Station 63, "This is the best tool we have in the station. It prevents so many injuries and helps us do our job better."

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Cedars-Sinai Health System is dedicated to excellence, compassion and innovation rooted in the Judaic tradition, and its devotion to the art and science of healing. A commitment to meeting the community's health needs has been a defining quality of Cedars-Sinai since the opening of the 12-bed Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, to what is now a world-renowned, nonprofit academic medical center. Cedars-Sinai's Community Benefit contribution, which totaled $640,287,000 for fiscal year 2012, supports a broad spectrum of initiatives to give those in greatest need access to health information, screenings and care. Learn more at cedars-sinai.edu

The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation is the major source of private support for the LAFD. Their mission is to create partnerships to provide resources, programs and equipment that assist firefighters and paramedics in protecting life, property and the environment. Learn the many ways you can help at SupportLAFD.org

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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