Article posted on September 25, 2025
High Performance CPR train-the-trainer session in Falher proves popular
High Performance CPR train-the-trainer session in Falher proves popular
The MFR team in was Peace River September 12 and 13 to attend the Northern Heat conference then hosted a high-performance CPR train-the-trainer session the day after in Falher.
“The Northern Heat conference allowed us the perfect opportunity to allow folks already travelling through the region to learn how to teach their own members high performance CPR,” said Marissa Crane, MFR senior staff development officer.
The session at the Falher fire hall was the first held in North Zone fire and was extremely well attended - even generating a waiting list due to high interest.
“Hosting a great course to improve first responders’ ability to provide better CPR helps us as well as the people we serve. Having such a large class of willing first responders makes these types of collaborations a pleasure for everyone involved,” said Marcel Maure, MD of Smoky River fire chief.
“It is great to see the enthusiasm and interest that participants are bringing to training events and bringing back to their home departments,” added Crane.
EHS Alberta (formerly AHS EMS) adopted high performance CPR training as a standard for all frontline EMS practitioners as a part of annual training as of the 2023-24 training cycle. All practitioners receive refresher training on high performance CPR at their annual training day.
To date, more than 80 agencies and organizations outside of EHS Alberta have received high performance CPR instructor training through the MFR program. The content is tailored for each group of participants, recognizing the unique assortment of training and experience in the room.
“The MD of Smoky River helped out with the space and also by providing two excellent high performance CPR pod coaches. These training opportunities wouldn’t be possible without such wonderful partners,” said MFR strategist Sheri Monk.
Above: MFR Program manager Blaine Barody thanks the responders for attending the high performance CPR train-the-trainer session.
Pod coaches from EHS ops and the Town of Peace River also helped out, allowing for 21 new trainers to emerge from the session.
High performance CPR originated in Seattle, Washington at the fire department level when Captain Craig Aman led its development after recording metrics such as compression rate, depth and chest recoil. Through this collection of data, he realized that there were too many pauses by members when performing CPR and sought to develop a training program that minimized time off the chest.
The training focuses on refining the delivery of CPR through optimizing existing skills. There are no formal certifications for this course, but many services throughout the world have begun to blend it into their standard teachings. Red Cross, St. John’s Ambulance and Heart and Stroke have not yet incorporated high performance CPR into their programming, so standard CPR certification is still required even for those who take this training.
So far, approximately 80 MFR agencies have been provided the training. The Grade Prairie region is being targeted for the next MFR train-the-trainer opportunity. Additionally, This year, the Alberta Fire Training Conference in Lethbridge is hosting high-performance CPR training as part of their hot training offerings. More information can be found here.
If your department is interested in hosting or attending, please email MFR@EmergencyHealthServices.ca.
Above: Colby, a pod coach from the MD of Smoky River explains some of the techniques of high performance CPR.
Last Updated: Thursday, September 25, 2025