It's a great thing when corporate and county hands shake to benefit an entire community.
It's even more special when lives can be saved.
Temple Industries' donation of $8,500 to purchase five automated external defibrillators puts one of the little lifesavers in each of McDuffie County's fire stations -- several years ahead of County Fire Chief Bruce Tanner's timeline. That puts McDuffie County ahead of many other communities in the state and should offer area residents a sense of comfort.
"So by having these things distributed throughout the county like this, we have increased the odds of our citizens surviving a sudden cardiac arrest tremendously, really," Chief Tanner said.
Those increased odds are enough to easily justify the expenditure of public funds to purchase the portable defibrillators. But Temple saved the county that money and made their community a safer place to live. For that, they deserve a big "thank you" from everyone.
Now Chief Tanner is hoping to add similar devices at the county courthouse and Sweetwater Park. That's a purchase county commissioners should be eager to make.
