Overwhelming support for first ever Blue Light Day

Thousands of people attended the first ever Blue Light Day at Cornwall Air Ambulance headquarters yesterday (Sunday 24 February).

The event turned out to be the charity’s most popular ever, as it showcased the work of emergency services in Cornwall.

Visitors had the opportunity to test their CPR skills and learn how to use a defibrillator alongside the charity’s critical care paramedics.

Crowds gathered in the sunshine as Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service held an extrication demonstration and rescued two patients from a car.

Representatives from Cornwall Blood Bikes, RNLI, Newquay Coastguard, National Coastwatch Institution and Devon and Cornwall Police were all in attendance with their specialist kit to demonstrate to the public how they help people in need.

With an unprecedented number of visitors, the event closed slightly earlier than planned due to health and safety concerns.

Paula Martin, Chief Executive of Cornwall Air Ambulance, said: “We were overwhelmed by the number of people who came to the open day, it was incredibly well supported and shows just how much people love finding out about the work our wonderful emergency services do.

“We apologise to those families turned away from the event; the attendance was unprecedented and unfortunately, at times, threatened to exceed the numbers of people we can safely accommodate on site. The charity will be looking into the possibility of holding another similar event, at a bigger venue, in the future.

“A huge thank you to everyone who attended and donated so generously to the charity- and to all our fantastic volunteers, without whom we couldn’t run this kind of event. We also want to say thank you to all of our colleagues from the emergency services for their time and brilliant displays.”

A final fundraising total from the event has yet to be confirmed.