Andy Austin, manager of That's A Deli, and Anthony Parks, proprietor of the Ice Cream Parlor, both showed remarkable grace under pressure with the quick thinking they displayed in rushing to the aid of a man suffering from an apparent heart attack on the sidewalk in downtown Southern Pines earlier this week.

While Austin, a former emergency medical technician, performed CPR on the fallen man, Parks sprinted a block down Broad Street to the town administrative offices to grab its Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

The device, which is as big as a woman's handbag, can help restore a normal heartbeat with a series of electrical shocks. As part of a program championed by the local Red Cross chapter, several area businesses (including The Pilot) have purchased these devices for just such a trauma.

Though information on the stricken man's identity or the ultimate outcome of the medical case was unavailable at presstime, Austin and Parks deserve praise for keeping a level head in this unfortunate emergency, during which many of us would have stood around wringing our hands helplessly.

This incident illustrates anew the need for more AEDs in more locations all over the county -- and more people trained in their use. They can save lives.