Free First Aid / CPR Class Packs Library Meeting Room

About 35 Chatsworth neighbors took part Saturday in the latest in a series of free Chatsworth Neighborhood Council-sponsored emergency medical classes.

"We usually get a lot of teachers attending these," said Clara Woll who organizes the classes. "But, this time it's mostly local residents."

The community room at the Chatsworth Library on Devonshire Street served as the classroom as Lisa Sheeran of CPR for Life, 21601 Devonshire St., put the students through their paces. The all-day session included separate tutorials for First Aid in the morning and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in the afternoon. Students used CPR mannequins to learn the appropriate amount of pressure to push on a heart attack victim's chest.

The Neighborhood Council has also sponsored Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Woll said a CERT class would be scheduled again. CERT volunteers aided in the rescue of injured passengers when a Metrolink train plowed into a freight in Chatsworth in 2008.