ROCHESTER — Under the guidance of the Rochester Fire Department, all 151 Old Colony Vocational Regional Technical High School freshmen learned how to save lives.

A four-day CPR seminar hosted by Old Colony had Old Rochester firefighters, emergency medical technicians and certified CPR instructors informing students on what to do in urgent medical situations.

The freshmen learned to call 911, use an AED and execute proper CPR technique.

“It was a super awesome experience,” said Old Colony physical education teacher Eugene Busa. “We’re really proud of the kids. They did an awesome job and took it very seriously.”

According to Busa, this is the first year that Old Colony students are receiving CPR training from the Rochester Fire Department.

Old Colony Academic Coordinator Cheryl Hebert arranged the seminar and worked with the fire department and Old Colony physical education department to plan this week of training centered around teachings from the American Heart Association.

“Hopefully they take away that they have what it takes to respond appropriately in an emergency situation,” said Busa. “With heart disease being the leading cause of death, they would know what to do if somebody were to have a heart attack.”