Danny's legacy may be a real life-saver
Fleetwood now has a public defibrillator thanks to former Fleetwood Rotarian, Danny O’Neill.
Danny, who died suddenly from a heart attack last September, at the age of 71, was born in Fleetwood and was a well respected figure in the town.
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Hide AdHe was a past president of the Fleetwood Rotary Club, chairman of charity Fielden Trust and one of the instigators in the formation of the town’s pocket park, a small oasis of greenery off North Albert Street, in the town centre. Fittingly, the equipment is based in the park.
Some £1,750 was made available from Danny’s legacy to fund the defibrillator project.
Gordon Oates, secretary of Fleetwood Rotary Club, said: “The defibrillator is a fitting memorial to Danny who wanted the proceeds from his estate to be used for the good of Fleetwood’s community.
“Some 30,000 people have a cardiac arrest each year outside the confines of a hospital, and a person’s survival chance falls by about 10% for each minute without defibrillation - so this is a valuable contribution to the people of Fleetwood.”
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Hide AdMembers of Danny’s family, Rotary members and friends attended the dedication ceremony in the park, where a commemorative plaque to Danny was also installed.
Gordon said the family wanted to thank friends who kindly gave their time, as well as Kris Butler for the free electrical installation, Paul Connor who prepared the area, Jim Pilling for providing the memorial sign, and bookshop/ café, owner Alli Thompson for meeting the ongoing electricity cost.