DOWAGIAC — Though the people at Starks Funeral Home spend most of their days helping families with end of life preparations, they recently made a donation to help preserve life in Dowagiac.

The Dowagiac Police Department and the Dowagiac Fire Department were recently gifted $10,500 from Starks Funeral home to purchase eight new cardiac automated external defibrillators, portable electronic devices that automatically diagnose life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and are able to treat them through defibrillation.

“My philosophy is, ‘how can I take care of the community and make an impact and help the community out?’” said Tom Starks of why he donated the money. “When I got the call, and learned of the need, I felt the need to give.”

Prior to the donation, the city had three AED machines. Now, the city has enough AED machines to stock one in every police car and fire truck, which Director of Public Safety Steve Grinnewald said will save lives.

According to the American Heart Association, the use of AEDs is critical to a patient in cardiac arrest, and the use of an AED can more than double a victim’s chances of survival. In the case of cardiac arrest, every minute that passes without CPR or defibrillation, the chances of survival drop seven to 10 percent.

“We wanted to get to a point where all our vehicles had [an AED machine], so that no matter who responds to a call, no matter what time it is, there will always be an AED there,” Grinnewald said. “In the last year, we have had two people saved due to quick AED use. All medical personnel who were there said that if the AED wasn’t there, those people wouldn’t be alive today. That’s how we know we need these.”

Despite the need for more AEDs, the money was not currently in the police and fire budgets, so, Grinnewald drafted a proposal and reached out to the community for help. He said when he reached out to the funeral home, Starks did not hesitate to agree and sent a check to the police within days.

“I can’t tell you how grateful we are,” Grinnewald said. “This will help our community and our departments.”

Deputy Fire Chief Robert Smith also expressed his gratitude for the donation.

“The fire department is very pleased with this donation,” he said. “I had my first experience with an AED back in the ‘80s, and the first time I saw one save a life, I knew they were really worth it. … It’s wonderful technology, and these new ones are top of the line.”

Starks said he is always looking for ways to give back to the community and is proud to have given to the cause of new AEDs in Dowagiac.

“I’m proud of this community and this city, and we want to help them any way we can,” he said. “With the police officers and the fire department, they help us out, so we like to help them help the community. It’s just a policy of our family to give back.”