General News
28 July, 2026
AED donation could save lives
Avoca Police received an AED donation from the Avoca Riverside Market on Sunday.
Avoca Riverside Market donated a life-saving defibrillator to Avoca Police on Sunday.
The donation aims to improve cardiac arrest outcomes by having an automated external defibrillator (AED) in their police vehicle.
Avoca’s Senior Constable Sam Van Dugteren said access to a nearby AED helped save lives.
According to Ambulance Victoria, survival from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest can double or triple when an AED is used before paramedics arrive.
However, according to Avoca Riverside Market president Lorraine Parsons, Avoca Police can sometimes be many kilometres away from the nearest AED when responding to incidents.
“In the unfortunate event something might require an AED it’s exceptionally long trip back to find one,” she said.
Sen Con Van Dugteren said they’ve needed an AED in the past, but haven’t had one, relying on CPR until an ambulance arrives.
According to the latest ambulance response time data, it takes around 25 minutes for a ‘lights and sirens’ response in the Pyrenees region.
Ms Parsons said the solution was obvious.
“The most logical step is to have an AED in the patrol car,” she said.
The $1950 AED was made possible through stall fees and community donations at the monthly market.
While it may mean they no longer have the funds for camel rides at the market, which costs the same, Ms Parsons said the choice was obvious.
“If it was a choice, funds wise, between an AED and camels we would choose the AED,” she said.
It’s a decision true to the slogan on the volunteer’s uniforms, “giving back and building community”.
“It just shows we’re very community minded in that all the donations that come through the gate go to a worthy cause,” she said.
Sen Con Van Dugteren thanked the community and the market for their support.
“We absolutely appreciate everything the Avoca Market has done for us in securing the funding to purchase it,” he said.
“Hopefully we don’t need to use it but it’s better to be prepared.”
Ahead of the donation he said Avoca’s police officers signed up for GoodSAM, which alerts users when someone is suffering a cardiac arrest near them, and encouraged the community to do the same.
According to Ambulance Victoria, patients were 37 percent more likely to survive when GoodSAM responders arrived before paramedics.
“If we can get everyone to sign up for GoodSAM then hopefully we can help raise the statistics,” he said.