When sudden cardiac arrest

occurs, says Chris Campbell, a firefighter and paramedic with Peachtree

City Fire Department, the victim's survival depends on the earliest possible

return to a normal heart rhythm.

And early defibrillation gives

the greatest benefit in saving lives, Campbell said.

Persons trained in CPR can

make a difference, and his department's three- to five-minute response

time of extensively trained personnel is about as good as it gets, but

"the quicker that defibrillation is delivered, the better [a patient's]

chances for surviving. These things do save lives."

"These things" are

automatic external defibrillators, devices so easy to use and becoming

so affordable that they can be placed wherever people gather. The American

Heart Association, which is sponsoring the community AED campaign Campbell

heads, likens the five-pound machines to fire extinguishers, now found

in virtually every public place and in most homes and vehicles.

"The big thing we need

to stress," Campbell said, "is that anyone can use them."

In one test, sixth-graders were pitted against medical professionals,

and the kids performed flawlessly and only seconds slower.

"It's so simple to use,"

Campbell said. "It has an on-off button and a shock button, and it's

been proven to be 100 percent foolproof." Because the device can

sense whether the heart is in a dysrhythmia that will respond to electric

shock, it can override a mistaken application. "There's no documented

case of anyone being shocked that shouldn't have been."

"The second biggest fear

people have," Campbell continued, "is that someone using it

could be sued." A federal act signed into law a year or two ago,

he said, gives the protection of "Good Samaritan" laws to those

attempting to save lives. The same law eventually will require all public

buildings to have AEDs available.

Campbell said he didn't want

to wait. "I wanted to start now. It's something I'm interested in.

My family lives here. Peachtree City is known for wanting to be the best

and safest community around.

"Seattle, Wash., had that

title for a long time, and it's our turn."