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People With First Shield

Many do. Broward County's local amendments to the Florida Fire Prevention Code, Section F-121, require an automated external defibrillator (AED) and a bleeding control kit in these new and existing buildings:

• Gyms, fitness centers and indoor recreation centers over 1,500 sq ft
• Assembly spaces (such as restaurants, bars and theaters) and places of worship with a capacity of 100 or more
• Offices over 20,000 sq ft, and all dental offices
• Adult day care facilities
• Charter and private schools
• Assisted living facilities, ambulatory surgical centers and walk-in medical clinics
• Retail and commercial spaces over 35,000 sq ft
• Hotels and motels
• Residential buildings five or more floors tall

Send us your address and we'll confirm whether your building is covered.

No. Florida has no general statewide requirement for businesses to install an AED. Florida Statute 401.2915 encourages AED owners to train users and to tell local EMS where the device is, and requires anyone who uses an AED to call 911 as soon as possible. Requirements to install one come from local codes, such as Broward County's Section F-121 and individual city ordinances.

Broward has a countywide rule in its fire code. Elsewhere, check your city: some cities have their own AED ordinances. For example, the Town of Cutler Bay in Miami-Dade County (Ordinance 21-11) requires an AED in indoor gyms, fitness centers, dojos and exercise or dance studios over 1,500 sq ft. We look up the rule for your city before recommending equipment.

Section F-121 sets the placement:

• In plain view of the main public entrance or the elevator lobby, with unobstructed access
• Inside a wall-mounted cabinet with a clear window and an audible alarm when the door opens, with the top of the cabinet no more than 48 inches above the floor
• Under an AED sign of at least 70 square inches showing "AED" and the universal symbol, centered no more than 60 inches above the floor
• With adult pads, plus pediatric pads as the fire inspector requires

The bleeding control kit goes under a BCK sticker, which can be placed on the cabinet. Buildings with multiple entrances, exits or floors need a sign at each one showing where the AED is.

A bleeding control kit holds tourniquets, gloves, scissors and gauze for stopping severe bleeding until EMS arrives. Every Broward building covered by Section F-121 needs one next to the AED. Places that hold 500 or more people need the large-occupancy kit, which must contain at least 8 tourniquets, 4 sets of gloves, 2 scissors, 8 three-inch gauze rolls and 8 gauze combine pads. We supply both standard and large-occupancy kits.

In Broward, the fire inspector verifies every AED and bleeding control kit before it goes into service and again every year. The owner must maintain both to the manufacturer's requirements and provide a replacement if a unit is out for repair. The fire department can also require written notice to the Fire Chief listing the business name, address, device locations, and each AED's manufacturer and model. Our maintenance program tracks pad and battery expiration dates and keeps those records ready for inspection.

Florida's Cardiac Arrest Survival Act, Statute 768.1325, protects both the person who uses an AED in an emergency and the business that acquired it from civil liability, as long as the harm wasn't caused by the business failing to properly maintain and test the device or failing to provide appropriate training to an employee who used it. It does not cover gross negligence or willful misconduct. That is why maintenance records and staff training matter.

It depends on the model, how many units your building needs, and whether you need cabinets, signage, bleeding control kits, training and a maintenance plan. We give you a written quote at no cost, and our on-site compliance assessment is free with any AED purchase. To spread the cost, lease-to-own starts at $155 a month for 36 months with maintenance and service included, and the AED is yours at the end. Show us a written quote from any competitor and we'll beat it.

We're an authorized Zoll dealer, and we also offer other models when budget is the priority. We recommend a unit based on your building, who will use it, and what your local code requires.

First Shield Medical (First Shield Medical Supply LLC) is a firefighter-owned AED and life-safety company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 2023 by Carlos Lang, a career firefighter-paramedic. We sell and maintain AEDs and bleeding control kits, plan code-compliant placement, and arrange CPR and AED training for staff across Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.