FOUR days before Father’s Day I could have lost my Dad.

Even now saying those words, let alone writing them down, is something I still cannot comprehend.

Learning the news in a long distance phone call I struggled to take it in. I felt shocked, numb and eternally grateful to the fast-acting member of the KLM airline crew who literally saved my Dad’s life.

The mid-air drama unfolded when my Dad’s partner called for assistance after he fell ill during a flight to New York. All he can recall is feeling hot. He woke several hours later in a hospital bed hundreds of miles away from the intended destination having had two stents fitted - an operation made possible by the cabin crew member who had performed the life-saving technique known as CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to keep him alive.

We know little about Dad’s saviour in the sky, but knowing how it had helped my Dad I decided to learn this life-saving technique.

None of us know when such circumstances may arise - but having the skill gives us a better chance of being able to make a difference should we ever be faced with the situation - after all, it could be the difference between life and death.

Thanks to the dedicated Blue Watch crew at Odsal Fire Station, those of us who participated in the first of a series of free CPR courses they are hosting at the station in Huddersfield Road over the next few months, can now assist in a life-saving situation.

Blue Watch manager, Andy Horsley, explains they decided to run the course primarily after learning of their fellow firefighter’s life-saving actions on holiday. He, assisted by a fellow holidaymaker, had helped save the life of a child who he spotted in difficulty in a swimming pool.

Andy says it also ties in with the Safe and Well checks they already carry out such as fitting smoke detectors and giving general safety advice to keep people safe in the community.

“As well as fighting fires and going to car crashes we are also potentially looking after people who need medical help. From day one in the Fire Brigade it becomes second nature to firefighters,” says Andy, referring to their knowledge of CPR.

Andy believes it should be taught to children from the age of 14 as part of the National Curriculum.

Like many, I hadn’t had the opportunity to learn CPR previously, some of my fellow participants had and were brushing up on their skills.

Sarah Nicholson’s 14-year-old son has a heart problem. She also works as dinner lady in a school so for Sarah the course would be beneficial to her as a parent and for her profession.

She vaguely recalls learning it at school and had watched it being performed on TV. “A lot of people are scared because they don’t know whether they are pressing too hard,” says Sarah, referring to the compressions performed on the chest during CPR.

The main incentive for us all, including Loretta Clinton from Cleckheaton, was to know what to do if faced with a situation. “It is basic survival,” says Loretta.

For those of us who were unfamiliar with the technique we shared the apprehension of doing more harm than good; what if you press too hard or don’t press hard enough - concerns that evaporated the more we learned and particularly when we had the opportunity of putting CPR into practice on a special training dummy which illuminated in the chest and forehead to indicate it was being done correctly.

After explaining the function of the heart, how it pushes blood around the body, Andy gave us a scenario of when to put into practice DR CAB.

The first port of call is always to call the emergency services giving them as much detail as you can, but you could also be doing your bit to keep the casualty alive until they arrive - and that is when DR CAB - the simple way of remembering which each letter stands for - comes in.

D stands for Danger: Assess the situation to make sure you are not in danger; R is Response: is the person responsive; are they breathing and can they talk? Andy explains how a pain response nip to the ear lobe or eyebrow can prompt the casualty to respond.

C is Catastrophic Bleed: Andy gave the scenario of a casualty with heavy blood loss from the leg. He talked us through wrapping something tightly around the injury as a means of stemming the blood flow - use clothing if needed something such as a coat and elevate the leg to stem the blood flow. Make sure they stay conscious by talking to them until the emergency services arrive.

A is for Airway: Check there is nothing in the mouth they may swallow and make the airway by placing two fingers under their chin and tilting their head back. They may automatically start to breath but if there is a problem you should then check for their breathing.

B is for Breathing: Andy explains the ‘look, listen and feel’ process. Look for the chest raising; listen at their mouth and feel by holding your hands slightly above the chest for 10 seconds. If their breathing isn’t normal they could be having a cardiac arrest and this is where CPR comes into practice.

Kneeling next to the training dummy, Andy positions the heel of one hand in the centre of the chest and with his other hand on top, fingers interlocked and arms straight, he leans forward and pushes firmly down on the chest. The rate is 100 to 120 compressions per minute, around two per second. The depth can vary from the size of the patient but guidance is five to six centimetres.

Then it was our turn. Taking our positions, we all had the opportunity to have a go. You don’t realise how physically demanding and exhausting it is, especially if you were doing it for a long time - but faced with the situation and the urgency of saving a life you would just keep going.

For us the course was informative, educational and well worth taking that time to learn this potentially life-saving skill.

Says Andy: “If one of you goes away and has to do this and keep someone alive we have done our job.”

Restart a Heart Day, on Tuesday October 16, is an annual initiative involving the Resuscitation Council (UK), the British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance and Yorkshire Ambulance Service. The aim is to train as many as people as possible in CPR in one day.

Last year 195,000 young people were trained in life saving skills across the UK. To find out more, or to get involved in the campaign visit bhf.org.uk.

Odsal Fire Station is hosting free CPR courses on September 29; October 16 - to coincide with Restart a Heart Day - October 24; November 8 and December 11. Email: CPR4Free@westyorksfire.gov.uk.