Last modified: Tuesday, March 31, 2009 2:18 AM EDT Norton named a 'HeartSafe Community' BY MICHAEL GELBWASSER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF NORTON - Having trained about 350 Norton High School students in basic CPR and installing defibrillators in town hall, at each school and the police station, Norton officially has been recognized for fighting cardiac arrest. And Wheaton College, too, will get a HeartSafe Community designation within the next few weeks - the first college in Southeastern Massachusetts and one of only four statewide to earn it, according to Frederick Fowler, executive director of Southeastern Massachusetts EMS Council Inc. Frederick Fowler, executive director of the Southeastern Massachusetts EMS Council, has presented the town with the HeartSafe Community designation, along with one of two new Norton road signs. "Without your support for this program, the community would be worse off," Fowler said. The HeartSafe Community Program is a joint effort by the state's Office of Emergency Medical Services and the Emergency Medical Care Advisory Board's Public Information and Education Resources Committee, along with the American Heart Association, the Southeastern Massachusetts EMS Council and the town. "It recognizes your local efforts to provide a strong chain of survival for residents and visitors," Fowler said. Last fall, 348 Norton High School students participated in a 90-minute "CPR Anytime" training program. The Norton Fire Department, the Norton public schools, Wheaton, the heart association and Sturdy Memorial Hospital are behind the heart association program, in which each student received a kit featuring a free 30-minute video and an inflatable mannequin for training purposes. The idea is that students will take the kit home and share it with their families and friends - expanding the number of Norton residents trained in CPR. "One kit could reach potentially eight, nine, 10 people," Fire Chief Richard Gomes said. The remaining 348 Norton High students who were not formally trained last fall will do so this spring, said Craig Andrade, Wheaton associate dean of health and wellness and director of student health services. Supporters are trying to train 2,000 Norton residents during the program's first year. Selectmen Chairwoman Mary Steele said her five-member board wants the training. Supporters are trying to raise $10,000 for the kits, which are $25 each, Andrade said. Gomes said a fundraising campaign probably will start in the next couple of months. Selectman Robert Kimball Jr. said donating to the campaign is an option, rather than giving flowers, for those wanting to remember a loved one. "This is a concrete gift that makes a concrete difference," Andrade said. "Our citizens are safer than they were before."