COEUR d'ALENE — Six hundred and seventy-five.

That's how many people learned CPR from the North Idaho College Workforce Training Center in 2022.

This month, more will be studying how to save a life.

Since CPR and use of an automated external defibrillator were credited with saving the life of Damar Hamlin, whose heart stopped after making a tackle in a Jan. 2 football game, interest has grown in those lifesaving measures.

The NIC Workforce Training Center, in Post Falls, will hold its 15th annual Safety Fest of the Great Northwest on Feb. 22-24. It's three days of free safety classes, demonstrations and workshops.

This year, it expects 90 different safety classes taught by about 50 different instructors teaching work zone flagging safety, OSHA trainings, boating safety and more, wrote Tom Greene, the Workforce Training Center's marketing and communications coordinator.

"We expect to have 60 spots open for first aid, CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) classes," he wrote.

It could save a life.

"Every second counts when sudden cardiac arrest occurs, and it’s critical to know what to do in an emergency," according to the Northwest Region's American Red Cross. "If you see someone suddenly collapse and you don’t know CPR, call or have someone else call 911 and start Hands-Only CPR."

The Red Cross recommends the lifesaving training for everyone.

Red Cross first aid training "takes only a few hours, and can give you the skills and confidence to act in an emergency and help save a life."

CPR has changed. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is no longer advised. The American Heart Association says use chest compressions only.

"It takes a few pumps to get the blood moving. Stopping chest compressions to do mouth-to-mouth interrupts that flow," according to verywellhealth.com. "Research has clearly shown a benefit to chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth."

Craig Etherton of the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department said anyone can learn how to do proper chest compressions.

The fire department performs annual CPR and AED training with city staff. All city buildings have an AED, a medical device that can analyze the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm. AEDs generally cost about $1,500 to $2,000.

They have come down in price, and it's common now for malls, churches and business offices to have one.

Etherton said AEDs are actually not difficult to operate. They come with written and voice commands providing prompts on what to do each step of the way.

For many, using an AED can seem daunting, but Dr. Michele Murphy Cook of Kootenai Health said the devices have become user friendly, making it possible to save more lives.

She said an incident such as the one involving Hamlin can increase attention on the importance of learning lifesaving measures like CPR.

She said cardiac arrest can affect all ages, but older people are more susceptible.

It happens more often than people might realize.

According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, there are more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests annually in the U.S., nearly 90% of them fatal.

Many do not know what to do if they see someone experiencing cardiac arrest.

Most surveys find that only about half of Americans say they know how to perform CPR.

Murphy Cook hopes to see an increase, which could come about, in light of Hamlin's recovery.

"Whether it's enough to make people more aware and bring about change, I don't know," she said in a phone interview with The Press.

Like Etherton, Murphy Cook said there are many resources available, including online training, to learn CPR and it doesn't take long. But doing it right is critical.

Technique and form "truly make a difference," Murphy Cook said.

"Good, quality CPR is what we're looking for," she said.