‼ Due to large-scale city events in the months of June and July, Community CPR classes will be halted until August 1, 2026. CPR training will continue for necessary City of Decatur Employees.
Any other inquiries will be responded to after August 1, 2026. Community CPR class seats will remain a first come, first serve operation.
If you would like attend training prior to that date, please browse the American Heart Association for available classes and resources.
We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to seeing you in the fall!
Due to the volume of requests for this class, we only accept registrations for those living or employed within the CITY limits. Please refer to the map to determine if your address is within the City of Decatur. Your zip code will be 30030. If your employer is within the CITY limits, you may also attend.
City of Decatur Fire Rescue Department offers First Aid and CPR courses. The class is free to residents, but there is a charge of $23 for the certification card and student handbook. Classes are not currently available for non-residents. Please check the map here to determine if your residence is within the outline of the city limits if you are unsure. If you would like to register for a class, you can email the lead instructor at jazzmin.rullan [at] decaturga.com (jazzmin[dot]rullan[at]decaturga[dot]com) with your address or the address of the business where you are employed within the city limits. CPR classes are offered on the third Saturday of the month at 9:30 a.m., so when asked for the class date, enter which third Saturday you are hoping to attend. Sometimes, due to high request, we will host classes other Saturdays of the month, which may also be offered to you.
If you do not need a card, we will offer the AHA "Family and Friends" option on an alternative date with a cost of just $2.50 for the handbook, or receive a completion certificate after attending a full CPR class, free of charge.
The class will be open until we reach our 12 student maximum, so it's first come, first serve, with confirmation from the lead instructor. Contact jazzmin.rullan [at] decaturga.com (jazzmin[dot]rullan[at]decaturga[dot]com) with questions about the class.
It has often been said that being certified in CPR is like having fire insurance. You really hope you never need to use it, but if you do, you’ll be glad you have it. Every 5 years the American Heart Association (AHA) makes changes to their CPR guidelines in an effort to continuously improve the quality of care in the CPR community. On an on-going basis, the AHA works to collect and analyze data from EMS and hospital calls in order to continuously improve pre-hospital care, which will, in turn, increase the odds of patient survival. In 2025 the AHA updated their CPR guidelines for their instructors.
So how does this impact you?
An American Heart Association CPR certification is valid for two years. Although the guidelines have changed, your card and certification will remain current for the remainder of your certification period. Starting in early 2026, any refresher training you complete will be under the new 2025 guidelines.
A comprehensive list of protocol changes will be reviewed with you by your CPR instructor at your next renewal. At your next AHA renewal you can expect to see an emphasis on the process for initializing CPR and minimizing the delays in treatment.
New Guidelines:
- The two finger compression method for infants in cardiac arrest is no longer recommended.
2025 (Updated): For infants, rescuers should compress the sternum with the heel of 1 hand or using the 2 thumb– encircling hands technique. If the rescuer cannot physically encircle the chest, it is recommended to compress the chest with the heel of 1 hand.
- Choking adults and children will now receive 5 back blows using the heel of the hand to the shoulder blades, followed by 5 ABDOMINAL thrusts. Infants will continue to receive 5 back blows, followed by 5 CHEST thrust. Do not administer abdominal thrust to an infant. This is to be repeated until the object is removed, or the patient becomes unresponsive.
2025 (Updated): For children with severe foreign-body airway obstruction (FBAO), repeated cycles of 5 back blows alternated with 5 abdominal thrusts should be performed until the object is expelled or the child becomes unresponsive.For adults with severe FBAO, repeated cycles of 5 back blows (slaps) followed by 5 abdominal thrusts should be performed until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive.
- When placing pads for defibrillation for an adult in cardiac arrest, it might be reasonable to adjust the position of a bra instead of removing it.
Why: Women experience significantly lower rates of public-access defibrillation compared with men. The need to apply pads or paddles directly to the bare chest may be a contributing factor. The option to adjust rather than remove a bra could mitigate factors like a rescuer’s discomfort with exposing a woman's chest.
- For more 2025 updates from The American Heart Association, please use the link: https://cpr.heart.org/-/media/CPR-Files/2025-documents-for-cpr-heart-ed…
Although not a guideline, many training centers are now able to offer E-learning to their students. E-learning is a new tool that allows students to complete the classroom portion of their CPR certification as well as take the written test on their own time. Once that is completed, an instructor is still needed for practical skill demonstration and skill testing. If you have scheduling conflicts that make gathering your entire staff for a CPR class difficult, this new tool may be beneficial to utilize. You should contact your AHA CPR instructor to find out if they have this option available.
There are a number of reasons to get certified in CPR, whether it is part of your job or perhaps you want to have the training in the unfortunate event you may need to utilize the skills in your day to day life. So go to your files, wallet, purse, kitchen drawer or anywhere you may keep that card and check its expiration date. If it’s getting close to two years ALREADY, get a hold of your CPR instructor. Staying current on your refresher training is vital. Vital that in the event an emergency happens near you, you can feel confident in your skills to help if needed, and possibly save a life.
A commonality in a majority of our patients who survived a cardiac event was bystander CPR. Someone nearby was able to contact 911, and initiate high quality CPR. Learn and be willing to do CPR. Understand the most likely time you will have to do CPR will be on someone you know. A family member, a friend, a coworker. You are a vital part of the chain of survival and keeping your community safe.
We look forward to working with you!