DENVILLE TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – Installing AEDs in Denville Township’s parks has long been a desire of Mayor Tom Andes, the Council, the Recreation Committee and the Office of Emergency Management.
However, security of the devices was a longstanding concern as the worst-case scenario imaginable would be that a AED was needed but the unit was missing or not working properly due to vandalism, Andes said.
Last December when Buffalo Bills safety, Damar Hamlin, suffered a cardiac arrest on the field, OEM Director Wesely Sharlpes, Recreation Director Nick Panetta and Mayor Tom Andes researched what technological progress had been made that would give the township the assurance that an AED would be there and in good working condition when needed.
Fortunately, the technology had advanced considerably and subsequently Denville has installed AEDs at the Gardner Field Fieldhouse, Veterans Field Fieldhouse, Knuth Field, VFW Field on Ford Rd, Pocono Field and on the exterior of Valleyview School adjacent to the sports fields, Andes said.
The technology has the AEDs in a secure temperature-controlled box with a camera and an automatic 9-1-1 call feature once the box is opened, Andes said.
“Although the township hopes the units will never been needed, if they ever are needed, we have confidence they will be operational,” Andes said.
The township is accepting donations to install additional AEDs at their larger complexes: Gardner Field and Veterans Field.
