How to Use an AED: Step-by-Step Guide, Avon, Colorado

The AED cabinet on the wall at the Avon Recreation Center, the rec league gym, or the grocery store entrance looks intimidating until the moment you actually need it — and then it becomes the most important box in the building. Sudden cardiac arrest typically has a low survival rate without early defibrillation, though this varies by location and circumstances, and survival improves significantly when a bystander delivers a shock within the first few minutes, long before paramedics can arrive.

That last point matters more in a mountain town than most people realize. Avon sits at around 7,430 feet in Eagle County, and while Eagle County Paramedic Services covers 911 response for the area, response times in resort terrain can stretch longer than in a flat city grid — especially during ski season traffic on I-70 or a summer festival crowd downtown. The gap between collapse and paramedic arrival is exactly the window a bystander with an AED can fill.

In this article

• What an AED Actually Does
• Step-by-Step: Using an AED in an Emergency
• Where AEDs Are Commonly Found in Avon
• Am I Protected If I Use One?
• What to Expect the First Time You See One in Action
• Reading This Isn't the Same as Practicing It
• The Bottom Line for Avon Residents

Key takeaways

• An AED analyzes the heart's rhythm automatically and will only prompt a shock if one is actually needed, so a bystander cannot accidentally deliver an inappropriate shock.
• Colorado's Good Samaritan Law (C.R.S. § 13-21-108) offers civil liability protection for bystanders who use an AED in good faith during an emergency.
• The full sequence — call 911, power on the AED, attach pads to bare skin, let it analyze, follow the shock or compression prompt — requires no prior medical training.
• Response times in mountain terrain around Avon can be longer than in dense cities, which makes early bystander AED use especially valuable in Eagle County.
• Starting Hearts facilitates Red Cross certification classes in the Denver area and teaches its own free, non-certification Call.Push.Shock bystander program.

What an AED Actually Does

An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that reads a person's heart rhythm through two adhesive pads and delivers an electric shock only if the heart is in a dangerous rhythm called ventricular fibrillation — essentially an electrical short-circuit where the heart quivers instead of pumping. The device analyzes the rhythm on its own; it does not rely on the bystander to diagnose anything.

This is the detail that removes most of the fear people have about touching one. You cannot deliver a shock to someone whose heart doesn't need it — the AED simply won't allow it. If the rhythm doesn't call for a shock, the machine will say so out loud and tell you to continue chest compressions instead.

Step-by-Step: Using an AED in an Emergency

Every AED sold in the United States follows roughly the same sequence, and the device talks you through it out loud once it's powered on. Here's what that sequence looks like in practice.

• Call 911 first, or have someone else call.The AED helps in the critical minutes before paramedics arrive — it does not replace them.
• Turn on the AED.Most units power on automatically when you open the lid; others have a single power button. Voice prompts begin immediately.
• Expose the chest and attach the pads.Pads go on bare skin — one below the right collarbone, one on the lower left side of the ribs. Diagrams printed on the pads themselves show exact placement.
• Let the AED analyze the rhythm.Stop touching the person during this step. The machine needs a few seconds of stillness to read the heart rhythm accurately.
• Deliver the shock if prompted, or continue compressions if not.If a shock is advised, the AED will tell you to stand clear and press a flashing button. If no shock is advised, resume chest compressions immediately.
• Continue CPR between analyses.The AED will periodically re-analyze the rhythm and prompt again — keep following its instructions until paramedics take over.

None of these steps require prior medical training. The entire design of a consumer AED assumes the first person on scene has never used one before, which is exactly why hesitation costs more lives than mistakes do.

Where AEDs Are Commonly Found in Avon

In Avon, you can find public AEDs at locations like the Avon Recreation Center, the Avon Public Library, and the City Market on Chapel Place. They typically live in a wall-mounted cabinet near an entrance, front desk, or gym office. Colorado doesn't mandate AEDs in health clubs or most business types the way roughly a dozen other states do — placement at locations like these is almost always a voluntary choice by the facility, not a legal requirement. Once a business or organization does install one, Colorado Revised Statutes § 13-21-108.1 sets real requirements around it: CPR/AED training for expected users, a written response plan, medical oversight, and regular maintenance and testing.

That patchwork is worth knowing because it means AED placement in most buildings — offices, churches, small retail, HOAs — happens voluntarily rather than by mandate. A K-12 school or an employer deciding to install a unit on-site is making a choice that goes beyond the legal minimum, not just checking a compliance box.

Am I Protected If I Use One?

Colorado's Good Samaritan Law (C.R.S. § 13-21-108) provides civil liability protection for people who act in good faith to help someone during a medical emergency, including using an AED. This protection exists specifically because lawmakers recognized that fear of legal consequences was stopping bystanders from acting — and hesitation is far more dangerous than an imperfect attempt at help.

This is not legal advice for your specific situation, and coverage details can vary by circumstance, so if you want a full understanding of how this applies to you, it's worth a quick conversation with a legal professional. What matters in the moment of an emergency is simpler: grab the AED, follow the prompts, and keep going.

What to Expect the First Time You See One in Action

The voice prompts are loud, clear, and repetitive by design — the AED assumes you're scared and won't remember instructions the first time through, so it repeats itself. There will be a pause while the device analyzes the rhythm, and that pause can feel much longer than it actually is when someone's life is on the line.

If a shock is delivered, the person's body may jerk slightly — this is normal and expected, not a sign that something went wrong. Chest compressions should resume immediately afterward unless the AED specifically instructs otherwise, and most modern units will guide you through compression timing with audio cues or a metronome-style beep.

Reading This Isn't the Same as Practicing It

A written guide can walk through the sequence, but muscle memory under pressure comes from hands-on practice, not reading — building the ability to move through the steps calmly when adrenaline is working against you.

Starting Hearts facilitates in-person American Red Cross CPR/AED certification classes in the Denver, Colorado area at discounted rates, and also teaches a free, non-certification bystander awareness program calledCall.Push.Shock.™, which covers the basics of recognizing cardiac arrest, calling 911, and using an AED — without requiring a full certification course. Starting Hearts does not issue certifications itself; Red Cross and American Heart Association certifications come directly from those organizations. If your workplace, school, or family is weighing whether to bring an AED into the building, Starting Hearts' team also helps organizations think throughAED placement and community program planning.

For families considering a home AED, units like the Philips HeartStart Home AED come with an 8-year warranty and are designed for exactly the no-training-required use case described above — though a hands-on class still builds the confidence that reading alone cannot.

The Bottom Line for Avon Residents

Sudden cardiac arrest doesn't announce itself, and in a town like Avon where paramedic response can take longer than it would in a dense city, the person standing nearest the AED cabinet is often the one who determines the outcome. According to Starting Hearts' internal records, the organization has trained more than 35,000 people and now supports over 200 client organizations with more than 500 AEDs across its network — proof that this knowledge spreads person to person, workplace to workplace.

Important:This article is educational and does not replace hands-on certified training. In a real cardiac emergency, call 911 immediately, and use an AED only as part of responding alongside emergency services — not instead of calling them.

If you want to move from reading about this to actually practicing it, Starting Hearts can be reached at +1-800-484-2550 or info@startinghearts.org. While their regularly scheduled Red Cross certification classes are held in the Denver area, you can contact them to inquire about arranging training for groups in Eagle County. You can also visit their local office at #219 Avon Center, 100 W Beaver Creek Blvd, Avon, CO 81620, to learn more about the free Call.Push.Shock program.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need certification to legally use an AED in Colorado?

No, you do not need certification to use an AED in an emergency. Colorado's Good Samaritan Law (C.R.S). 13-21-108) protects bystanders who act in good faith, and AEDs are specifically designed with voice prompts so an untrained person can operate them safely.

How much does CPR and AED training cost, and how long does it take?

Starting Hearts facilitates American Red Cross CPR/AED certification classes at discounted rates in the Denver, Colorado area — contact Starting Hearts directly for current pricing and class schedules. Its free Call.Push.Shock program, which covers bystander basics without full certification, typically takes under an hour and has no cost.

What are the actual steps to use an AED in an emergency?

Call 911, turn on the AED, attach the pads to bare skin following the diagrams on the pads themselves, let the device analyze the heart rhythm without touching the person, and follow its voice prompt to either deliver a shock or continue chest compressions. The AED repeats this analysis cycle until paramedics arrive.

How do I know when it's actually necessary to grab an AED?

If someone is unresponsive and not breathing normally, treat it as sudden cardiac arrest and act immediately — call 911, start chest compressions, and send someone to retrieve the nearest AED. The device itself will determine through its rhythm analysis whether a shock is appropriate, so there's no need to diagnose the situation yourself before using it.

Sources

• American Heart Association — High-Quality CPR Guidelines
• American Red Cross — How to Use an AED

Explore More

• Starting Hearts Training Programs
• AED Shop

About Starting Hearts

Starting Hearts is a Colorado-based nonprofit combating sudden cardiac arrest through CPR and AED education. The organization has trained over 35,000 people and owns and manages more than 500 AEDs placed throughout the community. Starting Hearts partners with the American Red Cross and American Heart Association, and its free, non-certification Call.Push.Shock.™ program teaches the core bystander response to anyone who wants to learn it. Starting Hearts is not itself a certifying body — Red Cross and AHA certifications are issued directly by those organizations.