VANDALS STEAL DEFIBRILLATOR
HUGE UPSET AT THEFT OF UNIT WHICH WAS SPONSORED BY LOCAL FAMILY
A DEFIBRILLATOR in memory of the late Seán Madden outside Chrissy D’s is missing, to the disappointment of Bray Cardiac First Responders and ‘Smiley’s Charity Events’ who fundraised for the AED.
Marc Windsor of Bray CFR said that a volunteer driving along Vevay Road on Monday morning noticed that the box was open with cabling hanging out of it and got in touch.
‘ The box and AED had been sponsored by a local family who run charity events each year,’ said Marc. ‘ They are very upset.’
The cost to replace the equipment if it is not found will be in the region of €1,000. ‘ This is the first major act of vandalism we’ve seen,’ he said. ‘ There has been damage to boxes before but nothing as serious as this.’ Bray CFR has 17 AEDs around the town.
‘ The group is very upset that someone would damage a piece of lifesaving equipment.’
A DEFIBRILLATOR erected in memory of the late Seán Madden outside Chrissy D’s is missing, to the disappointment of Bray Cardiac First Responders and ‘Smiley’s Charity Events’ who fund-raised for the AED.
Marc Windsor of Bray CFR said that a volunteer driving along Vevay Road on Monday morning noticed that the box was open with cabling hanging out of it and got in touch.
Another responder went to have a look and confirmed that the AED was missing. The alarm had also been ripped out of the box and the cover had been ripped off and discarded nearby.
They reported it to the gardai who will be examining CCTV from the area.
Bray CFR have checked with the national ambulance service to see if there were any calls on Sunday night which would have required the defibrillator and there were not.
‘ The presumption at the moment is that this was an act of vandalism,’ said Marc. He said that any time an AED has been taken for use in the past they have been notified soon afterwards.
‘ The box and AED had been sponsored by a local family who run charity events each year,’ said Marc. ‘ They are very upset.’
The cost to replace the equipment if it is not found will be in the region of €1,000.
‘ This is the first major act of vandalism we’ve seen,’ he said. ‘ There has been damage to boxes before but nothing as serious as this.’ Bray CFR has 17 AEDs around the town.
‘ The group is very upset that someone would damage a piece of lifesaving equipment.’
Monica Madden, whose son Sean ‘Smiley’ Madden died in an accident in 2014, said that she and other members of ‘Smiley’s Charity Events’ are devastated.
‘It’s heartbreaking to think someone would touch a vital piece of equipment to save a life if someone needs it,’ she said. ‘It’s heartbreaking for us because we raised the funds in Sean’s memory. It’s disrespecting something so precious to us.’
There is a plaque in Sean’s memory adjacent to the AED. ‘People are furious, is the feedback I’m getting,’ said Monica.
She said that they raised money last year for five defibrillators in the town and for the CFR cars, and have been told that at least one life has been saved by one of those.
Bray CFR is holding a table quiz on Thursday, October 24, at Jackie O’Driscoll’s pub on Strand Road at 8 p.m. Admission is €60 for a table of four, to include entry to the raffle.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the Vevay Road area on Sunday night or Monday morning can contact Bray Garda Station on 01 6665300.