Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Corona honors volunteers, fire department after AED at Border Park helps save player
Summary
City officials and the Corona Fire Safety Foundation recognized volunteers and first responders after a March cardiac arrest at Border Park was stopped with a public automated external defibrillator (AED). The council presented a lifesaving proclamation and confirmed plans for eight additional AED “save stations.”
Corona City Council on May [date not specified] recognized volunteers and emergency personnel who used a public automated external defibrillator (AED) to save the life of Lorenzo Duenas after a cardiac arrest at Border Park earlier this year. Fire Chief Brian Young and representatives of the Corona Fire Safety Foundation joined council members in presenting a proclamation and thanking volunteers who provided bystander CPR and AED use.
The incident follows a fatal cardiac arrest at the same pickleball courts in April 2022, which city officials said prompted the public-AED effort. “We installed that, and lo and behold, in March of this year ... they rendered care to Lorenzo here, and he is with us tonight because of their heroic actions,” Fire Chief Brian Young said during the ceremony.
Lorenzo Duenas spoke at the council meeting and thanked those who intervened. The Corona Fire Safety Foundation and local donors financed the installation of an AED kiosk at Border Park; Mary Barra of the foundation said the nonprofit helps the Corona Fire Department by funding equipment and programs that a public agency typically cannot. Barra also said several of the public AED stations and related placements were supported by an American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) CID grant obtained through Supervisor Spiegel’s office.
City staff announced plans to install eight additional publicly accessible AED “save stations” at parks around Corona and said the city will continue community training efforts so residents can use the equipment. The council presented the proclamation and took no regulatory action; the event was framed as a recognition and status update on the AED program.
The ceremony included a mix of city staff, Fire Department personnel and volunteers. The Corona Fire Safety Foundation encouraged residents to follow its public communications and the department webpage for more information on AED placements and training opportunities.
