Where can you find an AED in an emergency?
An automated external defibrillator, or AED, can help restart the heart during some cardiac arrests. It is designed for the public to use and gives clear spoken instructions from the moment it is turned on.
The difficult part is often not using the AED. It is finding one quickly.
AEDs are available in more places than many people realize. They can be found in schools, gyms, supermarkets, community centres, dental clinics, government buildings and many other public locations. However, they are not always easy to spot, not every device is registered on a public map, and some become inaccessible when a building closes.
Knowing where to look before an emergency can save valuable time.
Why finding an AED quickly matters
Approximately 60,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospitals in Canada each year. About nine out of ten are fatal.
Every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces the probability of survival by approximately 10%. Immediate CPR and use of an AED can double a person’s chance of survival.
CPR keeps some blood moving to the brain and other organs. An AED checks the heart’s electrical rhythm and delivers a shock if the rhythm can be treated by defibrillation.
The AED will not shock someone who does not need it. The device analyzes the heart rhythm and tells the responder what to do.
Call 911 before searching
If someone suddenly collapses, is unresponsive and is not breathing normally:
Call 911.
Begin CPR.
Send another person to find an AED.
Use the AED as soon as it arrives.
Put your phone on speaker so the 911 call-taker can guide you while care continues.
Do not leave an unresponsive person without CPR to conduct a long search by yourself. If other people are present, assign the job clearly:
“You in the blue shirt, call 911 and bring me an AED.”
Pointing to a specific person is more effective than calling out, “Someone get help.” It makes it clear who is responsible for acting.
Tell the person to return even if she cannot find an AED. You do not want a potential helper searching indefinitely while CPR continues with too few responders.
Ask 911 where the nearest AED is
Emergency call-takers may have access to information about registered AEDs nearby. Tell the call-taker exactly where you are and ask:
“Is there a registered AED close to us?”
Not every AED is registered, and registration systems do not capture every device in the community. However, asking 911 is often faster than searching randomly.
The call-taker can also help you recognize cardiac arrest, give CPR instructions and coordinate the ambulance response.
Use PulsePoint or NEAR Registry Apps
People in British Columbia can use PulsePoint Respond, a free app connected with BC Emergency Health Services.
The app can:
Show registered public-access AEDs on a map
Provide details about where an AED is located
Show photographs of some AED locations
Display the hours when a device is available
Alert CPR-trained users to some nearby public cardiac arrests
Direct a responder toward both the emergency and a nearby AED
After downloading PulsePoint Respond, select BC Emergency Health Services as the agency to follow.
PulsePoint Respond is available through the Apple App Store and Google Play.
PulsePoint also created a separate AED registry app that allows users to find and submit AED locations. The Android version is now called NEAR Registry, although older websites and instructions may still call it PulsePoint AED.
The map is a useful tool, but it is not a guarantee. An AED may have been moved, a business may be closed or a registered device may be behind a locked door. An unregistered AED may also be closer than the one shown in the app.
Use the map alongside 911 instructions and local knowledge.
Where are AEDs commonly located?
There is no universal rule requiring every public building or business to have an AED. Many organizations choose to install one because large numbers of people visit, staff perform strenuous work or emergency medical help may take time to arrive.
Common locations include:
Airports, bus stations and other transportation hubs
Arenas, swimming pools and recreation centres
Gyms, fitness studios and sports clubs
Schools, colleges and universities
Community centres
Libraries
Municipal and government buildings
Courthouses
Police, fire and ambulance stations
Shopping malls
Supermarkets and large retail stores
Warehouses and industrial workplaces
Hotels and resorts
Golf courses
Casinos
Banks
Large office buildings
Seniors’ centres and retirement residences
Medical clinics
Dental offices
Pharmacies
Churches and other places of worship
Fast-food restaurants and larger restaurant locations
Tourist attractions
Campgrounds and parks
Ski hills and outdoor recreation facilities
This list tells you where an AED is worth looking for. It does not guarantee that every location in one of these categories has one.
Where inside a building should you look?
AEDs are usually kept in visible, central areas that staff and visitors can reach quickly.
Look near:
The main entrance
Reception
Customer service
Security desks
Information desks
First aid rooms
Staff offices
Elevators
Main corridors
Fire extinguishers
Public washrooms or the corridor outside them
Gym or pool entrances
Sports courts
Cafeterias
Building directories
Many AEDs are stored in a wall-mounted cabinet. The cabinet may be white, red or green and may sound an alarm when opened.
Look for the standard AED sign: a heart with a lightning bolt through it. The sign is often green and white, although colours can vary.
Ask staff directly
Do not quietly wander through a large building looking for a cabinet.
Ask loudly and clearly:
“There is a cardiac arrest. Where is your AED?”
Use the words cardiac arrest and AED. This communicates urgency and helps staff understand what you need.
In larger stores, ask an employee to contact customer service or management by radio. In a school, community centre, arena or church, ask for the office, front desk, custodian or person responsible for first aid.
Staff may know about an AED kept somewhere that is not visible to the public.
Check nearby businesses, not just the building you are in
An AED does not have to belong to the property where the cardiac arrest occurs.
If someone collapses in a small shop, parking lot, street or other location without an obvious AED, a second responder can check nearby:
Supermarkets
Gyms
Pharmacies
Dental clinics
Medical offices
Banks
Hotels
Schools
Community centres
Fast-food restaurants
Fire halls
A large organization or healthcare-related business may have an AED even when the smaller business beside it does not.
Again, this search should be performed by another responder. CPR must continue.
An AED behind a locked door cannot help
AED access is not only about how many devices a community owns. It is also about whether they can be reached.
An AED inside a school may be unavailable overnight. One inside a recreation centre may be locked away after closing. A device stored in a staff-only office may be difficult for the public to find.
When checking PulsePoint or another AED registry, look for availability hours. If the closest device is inaccessible, move immediately to the next option instead of wasting time at a locked door.
Communities and businesses should place AEDs where they can be:
Seen easily
Reached without a key
Accessed during all operating hours
Retrieved quickly from the areas they are intended to serve
Located by someone unfamiliar with the building
Whenever possible, publicly accessible outdoor cabinets provide better access than devices locked inside buildings.
Learn the AED locations in places you visit regularly
Do not wait for a cardiac arrest to notice where emergency equipment is kept.
The next time you enter one of these locations, look for the AED:
Your workplace
Your gym
Your community centre
Your usual supermarket
Your place of worship
Your recreation facility
Your apartment or condominium building
A venue where you attend meetings or events
Ask staff if you cannot find one.
This small habit builds a mental map of the equipment around you. In an emergency, you will already know where to go.
Employers should include the AED location in staff orientation and emergency drills. Staff should know how to reach it, who inspects it and whether it remains available outside normal business hours.
You do not need certification to use an AED
AEDs are designed to guide members of the public through the response.
Once opened and switched on, the AED will tell or show you to:
Expose the person’s chest.
Apply the pads as shown in the diagrams.
Stop touching the person while the AED analyzes.
Deliver a shock if instructed.
Resume CPR.
The machine will only advise or deliver a shock when it detects a shockable heart rhythm.
You do not need to identify the rhythm yourself. You do not need to decide whether a shock is medically appropriate. Follow the AED’s instructions and the directions from the 911 call-taker.
Training is still valuable. Practising with an AED removes uncertainty and helps responders work faster, but a lack of certification should not stop someone from using one during a cardiac arrest.
Help put missing AEDs on the map
An AED registry is only useful when device locations are submitted and kept current.
If your workplace, organization or community group owns an AED:
Register it with the applicable public AED registry
Provide an exact description of its location
Add a clear photograph
Record the hours it can be accessed
Update the listing if the AED is moved
Inspect the battery and pads regularly
Replace expired pads and depleted batteries
Make sure signs remain visible
Members of the public can also submit AEDs they find through the PulsePoint AED or NEAR Registry system. Submitted locations may need to be checked and approved before appearing as verified resources.
Finding an AED is part of being prepared
It is useful to know how to perform CPR. It is even better to know where the nearest AED is before anyone needs it.
Download PulsePoint Respond. Look for AED signs in the places you visit. Ask your workplace where its device is kept. Notice which nearby businesses may have one.
If a cardiac arrest happens:
Call 911
Start CPR
Send someone for an AED
Use it as soon as it arrives
Do not stop CPR for a long, uncertain search. Do not assume someone else knows where the AED is. Give one person a clear task and keep lifesaving care moving.
The closest AED may already be only a few doors away.
References
BC Emergency Health Services. PulsePoint CPR App.
PulsePoint Foundation. PulsePoint AED and AED Registry.
PulsePoint Foundation. Download PulsePoint.
Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada. Restart a Heart.
Government of British Columbia. More Accessible Defibrillators Put People at the Heart of Health Care.
British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals. Minimal and Moderate Sedation Services in Dentistry.
British Columbia College of Oral Health Professionals. General Anaesthetic Services in Dentistry.
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