Around New England

‘Stop the Bleed’ Classes Drawing Huge Interest on Cape After Shark Attacks

February 22, 2019

A class on stopping bleeding in case of a shark attack offered by a Cape Cod fire department has proven so popular that fire officials are adding monthly sessions through June.

“Stop the Bleed” offers hands-on training in applying tourniquets, ice packs, and compression in the right places in case of a major injury leading to loss of blood, in hopes of saving an injured person before the person bleeds to death.

The first class on January 17 immediately got full enrollment of 25 people, and so did a second class earlier in February. Six additional classes are now scheduled for March through June.

“This is an effort, an endeavor to make it safer for beachgoers to enjoy our beaches …” said Orleans Fire Chief Anthony Pike during the town selectmen’s meeting Wednesday, February 20.

Orleans is near the beginning of the Lower Cape — for drivers about halfway between the Cape Cod Canal and Provincetown at the tip of the Cape.

Two major shark attacks to the north of Orleans last year have gotten people’s attention. A great white shark bit a man August 15 off a beach in Truro, seriously injuring him. On September 15, a man in the water off a beach in Wellfleet was bitten by a great white shark and later died.

Town officials noted that accidents concerning cars, construction, tablesaws, and snowblowers can cause bleeding injuries comparable to a shark attack.

“This is class that pretty much I call it the new CPR, and I think that everybody should take this class,” Pike said.

The Orleans Citizens Forum registers people for the class.