BERKELEY – Following an incident where an accessible defibrillator helped save a man’s life, all township restaurants will soon be required to have them.
An ordinance passed by the Township Council recently sets the date as January 1, 2025 for when this would go into effect.
Defibrillators are devices that apply an electric charge to get a heart pumping at a normal rhythm, used after sudden cardiac arrest.
The idea for having these throughout town came after a local function last year when a member had a medical emergency. The building they were in had an automated external defibrillator (AED).
Councilman Thomas Grosse, a retired Toms River police officer, was one of the people who helped the man.
“I think it’s important to have an AED,” he said.
“I didn’t want to impart an unfunded mandate on our businesses,” he noted, explaining that there is a grant they are looking at which would make it so the restaurants don’t have to pay for anything.
The new law will require at least one automated external defibrillator in every restaurant. It will have to be stored in an accessible location and employees need to know where it is and be able to get to it during an emergency.
The restaurant needs to have at least one employee on site during normal business hours who holds a current certification on how to use it from a training program recognized by the Department of Health and Senior Services, such as the American Red Cross or American Heart Association.
The device would need to be tested and maintained. The first responders must be notified about the type of defibrillator and its location. Violating this rule would incur a fine starting at $500.
It was noted at a recent meeting that there are defibrillators on every floor of every municipal building.
