The City of Dothan’s 2024 IAFC Heart Safe Community Award win was a momentous achievement for our entire community. This recognition highlighted the city’s commitment to improving cardiac emergency response and preparedness, benefiting residents and first responders. The City of Dothan is a PulsePoint-connected community.
The Dothan Fire Department played a pivotal role in securing this award through its continuous efforts to ensure fast, effective medical intervention in cardiac arrest cases. By providing widespread access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces and offering CPR training for community members, the fire department has elevated the city’s ability to respond to heart-related emergencies. The award underscored the impact of these lifesaving measures.
Winning the Heart Safe Community Award means enhanced safety and peace of mind for our community. It signifies a greater public awareness of heart health, improved training for first responders, and quicker access to emergency medical care. Additionally, with AEDs placed in strategic public areas, residents now have the tools to act quickly during a crisis.
This recognition also positioned Dothan as a model for other cities aiming to improve their emergency response systems. More than just a prestigious award, it represents the collaborative effort of local organizations, medical professionals, and residents working together to save lives. Dothan’s achievement will undoubtedly continue to strengthen the safety and well-being of our community for years to come.
Having participated in and won this prestigious award, the Dothan Fire Department has seen firsthand the good it can do for the entire fire service. The recognition of Dothan as a Heart Safe community and the special attention paid to the city’s fire department for its efforts to achieve this distinction have elevated the community’s engagement with and support of the department and its lifesaving mission.
The IAFC and past award winners like Dothan encourage members to apply for the 2025 Heart Safe Community award. PulsePoint Foundation sponsors this award, recognizing communities like Dothan provide lifesaving assistance. By supporting and recognizing exceptional efforts toward cardiac care by fire departments, PulsePoint aims to enhance cardiac response outcomes for small and large communities across the U.S.A.
The application period for this year’s Heart Safe Award is open through March 7. A department must have demonstrated creative approaches to improving therapies for patients experiencing cardiac-related emergencies or sudden cardiac arrest to be eligible. Applications must include a short description of the applying department's community program for presentation at the Fire-Rescue Med (FRM) conference in May.
There are two award categories: small to mid-sized departments (serving populations under 100,000) and large departments (serving populations of over 100,000). Learn more about the award or apply here: Heart Safe Community Awards.