February is American Heart Month, and the Fort Worth Public Library is teaming up with the Fort Worth Fire Department to provide free CPR and AED training for anyone who wants it.

After hosting a few very popular sessions last October, the library system partnered with the fire department for more than a dozen sessions this heart month, and hundreds have shown up.

"I thought it'd be a good idea to come in and kind of refresh my memory on all of this, because I'm seriously considering getting my recertification," said Douglas Jones. "Even certified as a trainer to go around and do these things."

The Fort Worth resident was one of about a dozen attendees at a training earlier this month at Northwest Library.

"[The classes] take away the mystery and the fear that some residents might have on how to do it," Fort Worth Public Library communications manager Theresa Davis said. "Build that confidence so that they might actually save a life."

"The idea is to do a teaching, hands-on opportunity for people to do CPR, use an AED, to determine that they can do this, and they can do it highly and effectively," said Fort Worth Fire Chief Jim Davis. "It has been proven to make a difference in outcomes of sudden cardiac arrest."

The classes are designed for teens and adults. Although they are not official certification courses, participants still recieve valuable information to take with them.

"I'm always around children and my family," said Saginaw resident Sylvie Abasso. "Sometimes you hear that someone is dying because there is no one knowing how to do CPR. So, when I saw it on the calendar, I said, 'I need to take that.'"

According to the American Red Cross, more than 350,000 people in the U.S. go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year.

The final two classes will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at Ridglea Library and Friday, Feb. 28 at 5 p.m. at Meadowbrook Library. More information is available on the Fort Worth Public Library website.