Be honest, how often do you actually pay attention when a flight attendant is presenting pre-flight safety instructions? You’ve heard it all before, right?

Now ask yourself how confident you are that you would actually remember all of those instructions in the unfortunate event of an actual emergency. Starting to feel like you might want to pay attention for a refresher the next time you’re on a plane, just to be on the safe side?

Several weeks ago, Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the football field. His life was saved, in part, thanks to a handy automated external defibrillator (AED). As you’ll see on page 1A of this week’s paper, those same devices are available in many Town buildings and local schools in the event of an emergency, but chances are most folks have no idea where they are located.

The answer is, “they are in plain sight,” but the tricky part is getting ourselves to notice the smaller details when we’re out and about, either visiting the Community Center for the hundredth time or paying our first visit to the library.

These AED devices are usually in a big box mounted on the wall and they even have a sign advertising their presence. Still, we frequently overlook these details and, if an emergency occurs, would you know where to run and grab an AED in Town Hall? What about on the high school campus? And where might you find a fire extinguisher in those buildings?

Next time you’re in a Town/school facility in Fountain Hills, it might be a good idea to take a look around and become familiar with these life-saving features that usually go unnoticed. Hopefully you’ll never need to know where the fire alarm is or the quickest way to an emergency exit, but it’s good knowledge to revisit from time to time.