Defibrillators in museums and heritage sites: obligations

A museum, château, monument or exhibition centre receiving the public is an ERP (établissement recevant du public, a building open to the public). The obligation to install a DAE (défibrillateur automatisé externe, in English an AED, automated external defibrillator) depends on its category, which is set by capacity: ERP of categories 1 to 3 have had to be equipped since 1 January 2020, category 4 since 2021, and some category 5 ERP since 2022. This obligation comes from loi 2018-527 (the French law of 2018) and décret 2018-1186 (the implementing decree).

A heritage site often comprises several buildings: a town house and its annex, a château and its outbuildings. Each one may fall under its own category. The simplest approach is to ask the safety commission or the town hall for the exact classification of each building before sizing the equipment.

Around 50,000 cardiac arrests occur in France every year, and each minute without defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by about 10%. In a museum, time is lost less on the road than inside the building: someone must spot the incident, alert a staff member, fetch the device and bring it back.

Visitors to a cultural venue are often elderly people, school groups or tourists who do not know the premises. Reception and surveillance staff, present in every gallery, therefore become the first link in the chain of survival. The device must be within reach of a staff member, not in a locked office.

The defibrillator must be accessible during all opening hours, without a key or a complicated code, and visible from a busy area. The reception desk or entrance hall is often the best choice, since a staff member is always present there. For a large site, a second device halfway along the route may be justified.

A simple test is to time a round trip on foot between the most distant galleries and the device. If the journey seems long, the equipment should be moved closer or another one added. The number of devices is therefore decided by the real layout of the premises, not by a uniform rule.

In an old building, fixing a cabinet to the wall can be a problem: cut-stone walls, decorations, woodwork, protected perimeters. Before any drilling, the manager contacts the building owner and the heritage services to agree on an acceptable solution.

Several options exist: a cabinet placed on existing reception furniture, a free-standing support, or installation in a technical room near the hall. The choice between an indoor and an outdoor cabinet depends on exposure to weather and temperature. A DAE placed in an unheated room or in a courtyard must stay within the operating range specified by the manufacturer.

The manager also checks that the chosen equipment carries the CE marking and that the manufacturer states the storage conditions. This information appears in the instructions for each device.

Signage follows the arrêté du 29 novembre 2018 (the French order of 29 November 2018): the standard pictogram must guide people from the entrance to the device, with consistent arrows along the circulation routes. In a carefully designed setting, one chooses discreet but compliant supports. A sign nobody can see is useless on the day someone looks for the device.

Registration in GéoDAE is mandatory. It allows emergency services to locate the device and tell people who call 15, the French emergency medical number, where it is, provided the access hours entered match the museum's opening hours.

Maintenance is the operator's responsibility (article R. 5212-25 du Code de la santé publique, the French Public Health Code). Electrodes are replaced every 2 to 5 years, batteries every 3 to 5 years, and the device itself after 8 to 10 years or more. Regular checks of the self-test indicator, recorded in a register, avoid unpleasant surprises. Museums that close seasonally plan a check before reopening.

An automated defibrillator guides the user by voice, but its effectiveness depends on teams who do not hesitate. Awareness training in life-saving actions for reception, surveillance and visitor-engagement staff makes it possible to recognise a cardiac arrest, raise the alarm, perform chest compressions and use the device.

Museum staff are often numerous and changing: temporary workers, seasonal staff, security contractors. It is useful to plan a session at the start of each season and to check that at least one trained staff member is present at every opening hour. A short field exercise, device in hand, helps people remember the route.

Managers of heritage venues often have tight budgets and long decision cycles. Renting, from €50 excl. VAT per month with maintenance included, spreads the cost and hands the monitoring of consumables to a provider. Buying suits organisations that prefer to control their own equipment, with a 5-year warranty.

France Défibrillateur delivers in 2 to 5 working days and provides a quote within 24 hours, which leaves time to prepare the location and the training before installation.