Rudolph firefighter lends a hand for SPASH class

By Brandi Makuski

Senior Desiree Harhay was all smiles with her grandfather at her side in the SPASH south commons on Oct. 19.

Harhay, 17, asked her grandfather, Don Olds, to assist with a class presentation on Friday. Olds, who is the assistant fire chief for the Rudolph Fire Dept., brought in one of the department’s two LUCAS devices to show the class.

Harhay was giving the presentation during Medical Intervention, a science elective she chose to take before graduating. The class is taught by Greg Marty, who allows students to bring a hot beverage to class for “Cappuccino Friday” presentations related to health.

“It’s really fun, I love the class,” she said. “Right now we’re learning about bacteria and cells. We do a lot of labs.”

Harhay said she asked her grandfather to help demonstrate the device—a battery-operated machine that performs continuous chest compressions, replacing manual CPR—because not many students have seen one before.

Old said RFD has two of the devices, which he said “saves wear and tear on our bodies.”

“Trying to do CPR in a moving ambulance is really something that’s hard to do,” Olds said. “You don’t always know if you’re pushing hard enough when the ambulance is bouncing around.”

Olds, an EMT, has been with the Rudolph Fire Department for 20 years.

Harhay, 17, senior, plans to attend UWSP to become an elementary school teacher.

Both Olds and Harhay live in Stevens Point.