With Mayor Clare Stewart’s launching of three new AEDs (defibrillators) at the Main and West Beach towers this week, Noosa moved one step closer to completing a line of protection of the bathing reserve and World Surfing Reserve from Alexandria Bay to the river mouth.
The AED program, which aims to place a potentially lifesaving defibrillator within a three-minute range of any point along Noosa’s world famous surfing beach and point breaks, was initiated by Noosa Surf Club in 2020 and joined by Noosa World Surfing Reserve at the start of this year. Together, they have now installed five AEDs, with the NWSR set to install a further two before the end of the month.
Surf club president Ross Fisher told Noosa Today: “The Surf Club, with the support of Noosa Radiology, has now installed one on each of the three patrol and Coast Guard towers from the surf club to the river mouth. The placement of these AEDs will ensure that their accessibility will be a huge boost in Noosa’s ongoing efforts to improve safety for all, and will vastly improve the time in an emergency to get one onto a patient to improve their chance of survival.”
Mr Fisher said that working with stakeholders Noosa Shire Council, Surf Life Saving Queensland, Queensland Parks and Wildlife and Noosa World Surfing Reserve, the Surf Club was planning a raft of further surf safety intiatives, including the installation of a second emergency beacon on the outer bays to overcome mobile blind-spots, and adoption of a new surf safety code being developed through Noosa Council’s surf safety roundtable group.
As well as the Surf Club’s partner Noosa Radiology, the AED program has been funded by many local businesses and individuals, including supplier BCR Medical.
