State-of-the-art defibrillators help in emergencies to save lives in Ventura County

VENTURA, Calif. (KABC) -- When you call 911, seconds count.

Having state-of-the-art life-saving equipment can make the difference for any patient. The Ventura City Fire Department now has 20 new Lifepak 35 devices -- game changers in helping save lives.

"Gives us a lot more opportunities for faster results with vital signs. Also gives us more data in terms of what we're looking for in patient monitoring and we're just really excited to have these Lifepak 35s in our department now," said Christian Kay with Ventura City Fire.

The department is the first in Southern California to get these devices - with at least one unit now deploying on every call.

The defibrillators also provide critical CPR insight - giving first responders the ability to read a patient's underlying heart rhythm while performing CPR.

"We're able to determine more lethal rhythms quicker so we can make a quicker judgment as to what we want to do for patient care," said Kay.

The monitors cost $1.28 million - and were paid for and approved by the city's general fund last summer.

"One of the exciting things that the Lifepak 35 has the ability to do is to livestream to the hospital. Unfortunately, our community partners don't have that ability on the opposite side yet. We're the first in the area to have that technology, so we're hoping in the near future that will catch on," said Heather Ellis with Ventura City Fire.

The Ventura City Fire Department is proud to be at the forefront of improving lifesaving care in their community.