In November, the Cordova Recreation & Park District and Sacramento Metro Fire celebrated the installation of the district’s first publicly accessible AED cabinet at Hagan Community Park. Photo courtesy of the Cordova Recreation & Park District

SACRAMENTO REGION, CA (MPG) - When every second counts, Sacramento Metro Fire wants more neighbors ready to answer the call

A 19-year-old heard an alert on his phone, jumped on his e-bike and raced to a nearby park. Someone was in cardiac arrest. Before paramedics arrived, he began CPR.

For Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District officials, that response represents exactly what they hope to build across the region: a community where ordinary residents are prepared to help save a life.

Through its HeartSafe Community initiative and Citizen Responders Project, Sacramento Metro Fire is working to improve survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest by expanding access to automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, increasing CPR training and encouraging residents to use the PulsePoint AED app.

“Before any professional is actually helping, that is when the majority of people are dying,” said Capt. James Ellis, who helps lead the initiative. “The biggest bang for our buck, the thing that you can do to save most lives, is that time period from the incident until we get on scene.”

Since October, Metro Fire has trained nearly 1,600 people in hands-only CPR, compared with about 100 people annually in previous years. Photo courtesy of Sacramento Metro Fire District

The effort officially launched in 2025, but Ellis said the idea began years earlier after his cousin survived a cardiac arrest while working as a whitewater rafting guide on the American River.

“He recognized something was wrong, grabbed an AED from his raft and collapsed moments later. Crew members performed CPR and used the device to restart his heart,” said Ellis.

The experience led Ellis to explore why AEDs were often locked inside buildings and unavailable when parks and public spaces were closed. As he researched solutions, he discovered the national HeartSafe Community model and realized Sacramento could benefit from a coordinated approach.

At the same time, Metro Fire data showed cardiac arrest survival rates in the greater Sacramento region were below the national average.

Metro Fire formed a working group that includes Ellis, Community Relations Specialist April West and Director of Government Affairs Kyle Macdonald. The team presented the concept to the district’s board last fall and received strong support.

“We really do view this as an agency priority,” Macdonald said. “This is something that we’re excited to keep working on.”

One major focus is expanding public access to AEDs. In November, the Cordova Recreation & Park District and Sacramento Metro Fire celebrated the installation of the district’s first publicly accessible AED cabinet at Hagan Community Park. In May, members of Leadership Citrus Heights class also unveiled an AED at Rusch Park as part of their class project. Additional devices have since been installed at parks throughout the region.

In May, members of Leadership Citrus Heights class unveiled an AED at Rusch Park as part of their class project. Photo by Ornella Rossi

Metro Fire currently knows of nine publicly accessible AED locations, most of them in parks, and expects that number to continue growing.

The district is also building an AED registry through the PulsePoint app. Residents can use the app to locate nearby AEDs, while trained users can receive alerts when a cardiac arrest occurs nearby.

“If we can drastically increase the number of people using the app, we’re going to increase the chance that people are going to survive,” Ellis said.

Education is another key component.

Without CPR, survival chances decrease by roughly 10% every minute after a cardiac arrest. Metro Fire officials say bystander CPR can significantly improve outcomes, and combining CPR with an AED can improve survival rates even more.

Since October, Metro Fire has trained nearly 1,600 people in hands-only CPR, compared with about 100 people annually in previous years.

“We can train anybody to do hands-only CPR in 10 minutes or less,” Ellis said.

Fear is often the biggest barrier, officials said.

“People are not afraid to act. They’ve never been in that situation. They don’t know how they’re going to act,” Ellis said.

His message to hesitant bystanders is simple: do something.

“If somebody doesn’t make that call, that person doesn’t have a chance,” he said. “Think about it if it’s your loved one or yourself. What would you want?”

Looking ahead, Metro Fire hopes to train more residents, expand AED access in schools and neighborhoods, and eventually help communities throughout the district earn HeartSafe Community recognition.

“We know we can’t do this alone,” Macdonald said. “The more we can create awareness and demystify CPR and AEDs for folks, the better. This is really about helping create a safer community.”

For more information and to get involved visit https://metrofire.ca.gov/citizen-responders.