Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. Those two words can make a huge difference in the lives of your family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. But nearly 70 percent of Americans don't know how to administer CPR or are too afraid to act during an emergency, according to the American Heart Association.

The City of Knoxville, along with the Knoxville Fire Department and the Tennessee EMS Education Association (TEMSEA), is promoting an event with hopes of changing that statistic. "One Great Day of CPR" will feature multiple stations where citizens can learn the effective steps of CPR. The event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, on Market Square and will allow many instructors at once to teach the proper techniques of CPR.

"CPR is a life-saving skill that all of us should know. It's great to have our firefighters, emergency workers and TEMSEA take the lead on this so that our community is better equipped to handle emergencies," Mayor Madeline Rogero said.

Recently, Mayor Rogero and members of her staff took a CPR class led by KFD Chief Stan Sharp and the EMS division of the fire department.

"These classes literally can save someone's life," Chief Sharp said. "I know that the more people who know CPR, the better all of our chances are to survive sudden cardiac arrest."

TEMSEA is an organization of EMS Educators from around the state dedicated to world-class EMS education. The group will hold its annual conference in Knoxville this July.

"One Great Day of CPR" is free to the public and offers a certificate of completion for all who participate in a session. Registration will be held onsite. For more information, visit www.tnemsea.com.