Kojimachi Fire Station Chief Yoaki Kokufuda of the Tokyo Fire Department has presented Palaceside Building with a letter of appreciation (photo above) for “a major contribution to the development of emergency medical services.” (Forgive a little self-congratulation.)
The letter is dated September 9 and was presented on the 28th by Deputy Chief Toshiro Nishigaya (left in the photo at right) to Toshiro Hara, president of Mainichi Building Co. (right in the same photo).
Letters of appreciation often bring to mind a specific act of lifesaving. Reports of people rescued from a fire or pulled from the water are familiar. This one is different: it recognizes years of steady effort.
In recent years the building has received a letter of appreciation from the Fire Chief of the Tokyo Fire Department (March 2013) for everyday fire-prevention and disaster-readiness work — regular meetings, drills, equipment inspections and the like — and a letter from the Tokyo Fire Department’s Planning and Coordination Department Director (November that year) for actively promoting fire-prevention publicity. This time, the specific reason is that the whole building has run first-aid courses and steadily pursued certification.
As this blog has reported many times, the building has held an “Advanced Lifesaving Course” every year since 2012. The course is a public qualification taught and certified by municipal fire bureaus or headquarters such as the Tokyo Fire Department. It is mainly hands-on: chest compressions, rescue breaths, and actual AED operation. There is a half-day “Standard Lifesaving Course” and a full-day “Advanced” course; this building runs the Advanced one. A major feature is that it covers not only adult CPR but also resuscitation for children, infants and newborns.
In September 2012 the first session was held “in-house,” for building staff and people from contracted security firms and the like, and 34 people earned the Advanced certificate. To respond immediately when someone falls ill or is injured, the program was then opened more widely to tenants, and since July 2014 it has been held every summer. New certificate holders: 32 in 2014, 34 in 2015, 30 in 2016 and 17 in 2017 — 147 in total since 2012. Certificates must be renewed every three years, so since 2015 a half-day renewal course has also been held each year, and many people keep their qualification current.
That unglamorous work led to this letter of appreciation.
We will keep working steadily so the building remains one of safety and peace of mind, worthy of the honor.