Saving someone’s life doesn’t always involve a dramatic act of heroism. Sometimes all it takes is an everyday person with basic knowledge of what to do in an emergency situation.

Bill Pinson of Verbena manages employees for a phone system installation company. His wife, Fran, is an instructor at LeCroy Career/Technical Center. The couple recently completed a 40-hour first responder course offered at West Chilton Fire Department because they saw the benefits of the knowledge it offered.

“It’s really something everybody should do,” said Bill Pinson, who runs marathons and half-marathons.

“I’ve seen people fall out in races, and I thought I could help out,” he said.

Pinson is also a former police officer and has been in plenty of situations where the skills learned in first responder training could have meant the difference between life and death for someone.

He said the training could come in handy for anyone who goes on a mission trip or participates in a similar group activity.

“You can be a help to family members as well,” he said.

The course covered fractures and splinting, bleeding control/bandaging, extrication, lifting and moving patients, incident command, hazardous material recognition, and medical emergencies like heart attacks, strokes and diabetes.

About 20 people participated, some of which came from as far as Deatsville.

These included Cecil Boatwright, Ellen Boatwright, Allen Evans, Teresa Evans, Corey Gandy, Cathy Johnson, Martin Jowers, Payton Knight, John Layman, Skylar Lesley, Bill Pinson, Fran Pinson, David Reiter, Brittany Richardson, Penny Richardson, Ashley Shearon, Amanda Turner, Samantha Glass and Shelly Bentley.

“These people have to be really dedicated to take 40 hours of their time to learn this,” said Chilton County Emergency Management Agency director Bill Collum, who thanked West Chilton Fire Department for co-hosting the course.

The course was completed on April 29.