Community forced to fundraise after life-saving equipment stolen
A small community will need to raise $2400 to replace a defibrillator that was stolen in a night-time theft.
The defibrillator, a device that delivers a dose of electric current to restore a normal heartbeat, was taken from Four Foot Lodge Boarding Kennel and Cattery on West Bank Rd over Easter Weekend.
Motueka Valley Defibrillator Group chairperson Gloria Anderson said the theft was “upsetting” and “mind boggling”.
“Whoever took it has no conscience,” she said.
The device was purchased with a Network Tasman grant in November, and was one of four defibrillators placed around the valley.
Located in a bus shelter outside Four Foot Lodge, it was easily accessible to locals in case of emergency, and the community had attended training sessions to learn how to use the device, Anderson said.
While Anderson isn’t exactly sure when it was taken, the kennel owners remembered the sound of a car, and the dogs barking around 1-2am on Easter Friday morning.
An alarm sounds when the box is opened, and this sound might have disturbed the dogs, Anderson said.
The police visited, but were unable to find any fingerprints.
“The reason for taking it makes no sense, it’s a life-saving device that only works when someone has passed out and their heart has stopped,” Anderson said.
The charity now faced coming up with around $2400 for a replacement.
“We’re a small local community charity, we don’t have big bucks.”
With the nearest ambulance a 20 minute drive from Motueka or Tapawera, accessible defibrillators were critical pieces of equipment for the isolated community, she said. “We have been cut off through slips and floods: that device could save a life. The quicker you can get that machine to someone who has passed out the better [the outcome] is.”
The Motueka Valley Defibrillator Group, a registered charity, welcomes donations to 03-1354-0474291-00 to help replace the defibrillator.