Burnaby to look into having defibrillators at outdoor sports fields

Burnaby city council agreed to have its community safety committee look into bringing defibrillators to outdoors sports fields.

At a Monday night council meeting, a petition with almost 200 signatures was brought to councillors calling for automated external defibrillators (AED) to be placed at the city’s sports fields.

The petition states that most outdoor sporting events take place on evenings or weekends, when access to public buildings with AEDs is limited.

Experts say using a defibrillator within three to five minutes of someone collapsing can result in survival rates as high as 50 to 70 per cent.

Councillor Maita Santiago told city council she appreciates the call to action, after one of her friends collapsed at a hockey game and needed medical attention.

“They needed use of the AED and fortunately, it was inside the rink, so they were able to get that to him,” said Santiago. “I really appreciate how critical this is.”

However, Councillor Sav Dhaliwal told council he’s supportive of the proceeding, but thinks a feasibility study would be better handled by the city’s community safety committee — which is made up of volunteers who live or work in Burnaby.

He says since the committee already works with organizations like the police and firefighters on a number of issues, it makes sense to have them look into this too.

Currently, Burnaby has 41 AED’s at city facilites — 35 of which are in parks.

One AED costs $3,000, in addition to the cost of installation and electrical work.

Letters of support for the petition were sent in from BC Children’s Hospital, the BC Soccer Association, the Burnaby Football Club and the South Burnaby Metro Club.