In recognition of the World CPR Challenge, the Turlock Fire Department and American Medical Response are hosting a series of CPR classes today.

The “Compression Only CPR” training is open to any citizens wishing to learn this life-saving skill. The training sessions are free to all participants, last only about 10 minutes and no appointment is needed to attend the training.

The classes will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today in the training room at the Public Safety Facility at 244 N. Broadway.

The first World CPR Challenge was issued in 2013 as a way to teach as many people as possible CPR. More than 51,000 people across the country participated in the inaugural event.

Compression only CPR or hands-only CPR is done without the breathing and is seen as an easier to remember process. In a national survey, Americans who had not been trained in CPR within the past five years said they would be more likely to perform hands-only CPR than conventional CPR on a teen or adult who collapses suddenly. Approximately 89 percent of people who suffer an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest die because they didn’t receive immediate CPR, according to the American Heart Association. A poll by the American Heart Association found that 70 percent of Americans reported feeling helpless during a witnessed cardiac event because they didn’t know what to do or were afraid of hurting the individual.

Hands-only CPR performed by a bystander has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR with mouth-to-mouth breaths in the first few minutes of an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest. Conventional CPR may be better than hands-only CPR for certain victims, though, such as infants and children, teens or adults who are found in cardiac arrest after the initial few minutes after collapsing, or victims of drowning, drug overdose, or collapse due to breathing problems.

The hands-only method of CPR has a person pushing hard and fast on the center of the chest.