APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – An effort to equip all Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office squads with a life-saving tool is underway.
The initiative comes after an automated external defibrillator (AED) saved the life of an Ellington man last summer.
As they were getting ready for bed, Josh Koleske noticed his partner, Jeremy Trost, suddenly stopped breathing.
Koleske called 911 and Outagamie County dispatcher, Ashley Bergman, calmly walked Koleske through administering CPR over the phone while first responders were on the way.
An Outagamie County sheriff’s deputy was the first to arrive on the scene but Trost had a wait a little longer for the ambulance to arrive with an AED.
After doing some research, Trost tells FOX he was shocked to learn that none of the Outagamie County squads had an AED inside them.
“It means a lot to me, like I said, after doing that research, it was kind of surprising to me that so few squad cars even have them just because they are so important and you know, walking around and like here they are in the mall or stores and they’re a lot of places but not in the squad cars.”
A fact that also surprised Koleske’s cousin, Emie Phillips.
As an EMS, Phillips knew something had to be done so she decided to raise money to put an AED in all 36 squads in the county.
On Thursday, the Gold Cross Ambulance HeartStart Foundation donated two AED’s to the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office, while Koleske and Bergman were honored by the sheriff’s department for their life-saving efforts.
The Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office has the funds to purchase 11 AEDs and Phillips says she wants to raise $29,000 to buy the remaining 23.
Phillips tells FOX 11 she is in the early stages of planning a ticket raffle to help raise money.
If you want to learn more about how to help or buy raffle tickets, click here.
