Pricey heart machine falls off truck

Published Apr. 8, 2006


Burnaby firefighters are feeling a little red-faced after a $5,000 defibrillator - a machine used to revive heart attack victims - apparently fell off one of their trucks last week.

The yellow device, about the size of a briefcase with the words "Burnaby Fire Department" and "Engine Six" printed on it, was most likely lost on Government Street, somewhere between Brighton Avenue and Cardston Court on Tuesday, March 28, said staff officer Shaun Redmond.

Firefighters from Hall No. 6 had apparently been working with the machine just prior to receiving the call, and probably did not properly lash the device onto the truck before going on the call. "The cabinet door may have sprung open," Redmond said.

Once the disappearance was noted, firefighters went back and forth over their route several times, but to no avail. Now, they're hoping that whoever picked it up is willing to return the device to its rightful place.

"We're assuming that some good Samaritan picked it up, at least that's what we're hoping," he said.

Redmond noted that the device can deliver a rather powerful electric charge, and anybody who finds it should be careful not to tamper with the machine.