CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Additional life-saving supplies are being distributed all over Yeager Airport in the event of emergencies.
The airport showed off and installed 47 ‘Stop the Bleed’ kits on Wednesday.
The kits, that come in different sizes and features different medical supplies, were purchased through a $15,000 grant, provided by the Kanawha County Commission, as part of the Kanawha County Public Safety Grant.
There were three different kits released by airport officials including the big box bleeding control kits that will go next to the Automated External Defibrillators (AED) in the airport.
Smaller kits are also going to be in every Yeager Airport Police, Maintenance and Operations vehicle. Additional supplies will be put into all the offices around the airport.
James Mason, the Assistant Director at the airport told 580-WCHS that the need for these kits was recently brought up during their active shooter drill. In the past, a victim of an incident may have to had to wait for an ambulance to arrive for the important medical supplies.
“Someone that gets shot themselves or a family member is injured of some kind, these supplies can immediately be put into play instead of waiting on an ambulance or a fire truck. Those minutes can count, if someone is shot in an artery, three or four minutes they can bleed out,” Mason said.
The kits feature supplies such as tourniquets, chest seals, compress gauze, trauma dressings, and more to alleviate the bleeding of a victim.
“Our top priority is the safety of everyone who walks through the airport’s doors,” Yeager Airport Director, Nick Keller said in a release. “We hope these kits aren’t needed, but we want to be prepared.”
Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper and other members of the commission, along with area first responders and armed forces helped unveil the kits on Wednesday.
