Life saver: Gee holding an AED device he carries on himself. Standing behind him are the founding members of the Code Blue Rescue Team in Butterworth. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
BUTTERWORTH: A voluntary firefighter has revived more than 100 sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) victims in the last three years – thanks to the automated external defibrillator (AED) that he carries wherever he goes.
Gee Pin Chiew, 40, became a Jalan Raja Uda voluntary fire squad member in 2016.
“I had always wanted to be a fireman since I was 12. I don’t remember why I did not become one, but when the voluntary fire squad was formed in our neighbourhood, I immediately signed up,” he said.
After a few years in fire rescue, Gee came across another emergency that bothered him more than fires; he saw that many people collapsed due to SCA and the chance of helping them was slim if rescuers did not know cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or have an AED to deliver electric shocks to restart the victims’ hearts.
“Our fire squad did a community crowdfunding and raised RM9,500 to buy an AED. Since I am the only member who has certified CPR and AED training, I was assigned to carry the AED with me at all times,” he said.
Since he started carrying it wherever he went on his motorcycle, Gee, who runs a private hawker food delivery service, said he was saddened by how often he receives emergency calls about victims whose hearts stopped.
Almost always, those he saved were over 50 years old.
Some were at home and fell or experienced some sort of calamity that triggered the SCA.
Many were playing sports like badminton or futsal with friends in the evening or had gone hiking.
The youngest person Gee had to administer CPR to and use the AED on this year was a 35-year-old man.
“Uncontrolled salt intake. Consuming unhealthy fats. Not exercising regularly. A lifestyle like that will weaken you and put you at high risk of suffering from SCA.
“I only look after the Butterworth area around Jalan Raja Uda (a 5km road), and have encountered so many SCA cases.
“It makes me sad and whenever I meet people now, I talk about eating healthily and exercising regularly,” said Gee, also a certified CPR trainer.
SCA differs from a heart attack, which causes chest, arm, neck or jaw pains for over an hour before the heart fails.
In the event of an SCA, the victim’s heart would suddenly stop, and there is a window of only a few minutes to save the person and prevent permanent brain injury.
Gee said of the over 100 people he revived with the AED and CPR, he did not know how many had survived.
“My task as a first responder is to revive the heart and get the victim breathing again.
“But some still die later after they are sent to hospital. I don’t keep track of those I helped,” he said.
Penang has many publicly accessible AED around the state. Just search for “AED” on Google Maps to find them.
In March, Gee and many friends registered an NGO called Code Blue Rescue Team (CBRT).
In medical lingo, code blue is a super emergency. It means the patient’s heart has stopped and immediate response is a must.
“After each use of the AED, the shock pads and battery have to be changed.
“It costs about RM600 for each change. The money comes from about 100 friends.
“We formed CBRT because we have learned that the fastest way to save an SCA victim is a first responder on a motorcycle with an AED.
“So we are trying to form a larger team of first responders to be of service to Butterworth,” he explained.
Gee said he was willing to show other communities and neighbourhoods how to set up a system to help SCA victims.
For more information, go to “Code Blue Rescue Team” on Facebook.
