WESTPORT–Learn basic life-saving skills, from bandaging to assisting childbirth to trauma care, in the upcoming Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) course offered by the Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service (WVEMS).

The first-responder agency is accepting applications now, but time is short – the class orientation will be on Feb. 23 and spots are filling up, WVEMS said in a release.

Students who complete the course will be certified in CPR and Stop the Bleed and will be eligible to sit for the State of Connecticut EMT exam.

Led by veteran WVEMS instructors, the EMT course provides students with essential life-saving skills in a hands-on, in-person class. The course is designed to ensure that students are fully equipped to respond effectively to emergencies as part of an EMS team.

“Our curriculum and instructors maximize their time to assure that students will be the best prepared to save lives in Westport as future volunteers.” said WVEMS President Jaime Bairaktaris.

Classes are held in the Westport EMS Headquarters, 50 Jesup Road, Westport, unless otherwise noted. The course is open to students who are at least 16 years old or who will turn 16 by the last class.

The course includes in-person classroom lectures, in-person lab sessions, online weekly homework and quizzes, midterm and final exams and field training with EMS ambulance crews.

Students from diverse backgrounds, with or without prior experience, and from all over Fairfield County join the agency’s classes to learn how to save lives and to eventually volunteer with Westport’s EMS team, the agency said.

“Volunteers answering the call has been a local tradition in Westport since 1979 and will continue with thanks to those who sign up for this class,” the agency said in the release.

For more information and to register for the class, visit WestportEMS.org.