Frequently Asked Questions

Also called sudden death or cardiorespiratory arrest, a cardiac arrest presents as an abrupt loss of consciousness with no pulse, caused by the heart suddenly failing to pump blood to the brain and the rest of the body.

Europe records an estimated 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests a year, and barely 8% of victims survive. In more than 70% of cases the arrest happens in front of a witness. Beyond the first four minutes, the victim loses around 10% of their chance of survival with every minute that passes.

Staying Alive launched in 2010, and its citizen responder alerting service in 2016. It now counts more than 500,000 volunteers across 90 French départements, Belgium and Luxembourg.

Several such services now exist. More services means more citizen responders mobilised, which is not a bad thing.

From 2016, our Staying Alive app was operated by an association called “The Good Samaritan”.
In 2024 we dropped that name to bring everything behind a single brand: “Staying Alive”.
The company and the app now share the same name. The name changed; the mission did not. Save lives.

“Anyone voluntarily assisting a person in apparent grave and imminent danger is a citizen responder and holds the status of occasional collaborator of the public service. Until the emergency services arrive, the citizen responder performs first aid, including where appropriate chest compressions, with or without the use of an automated external defibrillator.”

Extract from French law no. 2020-840 of 3 July 2020, creating the status of citizen responder, tackling cardiac arrest and raising awareness of the actions that save lives.

Anyone can become a citizen responder, whether or not they hold a first aid qualification.

If you are trained in first aid, you need to supply a photo of a professional card or of a first aid training certificate.

Not being trained is not a problem. You can still be dispatched, to bring a defibrillator to where the victim is.

A cardiac arrest can happen at home, in a public place or at work. Do not hesitate: dare to act, your role matters. One minute gained is 10% more chance of survival.

Liability depends on your country’s law. In France, article 122-7 of the criminal code provides that “a person who, faced with a present or imminent danger threatening themselves, another person or property, performs an act necessary to protect that person or property is not criminally liable, unless the means used are disproportionate to the seriousness of the threat”.

In other words: you do your best, and you will not be blamed for trying to save a life. The law of 3 July 2020 goes further and exempts the citizen responder from civil liability for harm resulting from their intervention, other than intentional or gross misconduct.

Staying Alive runs first aid training and awareness workshops for companies in France. To find out more, get in touch through the contact form.

We would be glad of the help. You can:

– become a local coordinator for Staying Alive in your area

– help us reach emergency services and public authorities in your country

– support the association financially

Not yet as a regular programme, though local coordinators organise gatherings in some areas.

Not being dispatched does not necessarily mean something is wrong. There are more than 500,000 citizen responders for around 60 alerts a day. Other responders closer to the scene may have been dispatched instead of you, or your location may have been imprecise at the moment of the alert.

We are sorry to see you go. Open the Staying Alive app, go to your citizen responder account and select “Delete my account”.

Every question, suggestion and remark is welcome. Contact us through the form in your citizen responder account or on this website.

Staying Alive offers emergency professionals, fire and rescue services and emergency medical services, a way to locate and alert nearby volunteers, trained or not, when a cardiac arrest occurs, so they can help the victim or fetch a defibrillator.

Once you have downloaded the Staying Alive app, becoming a citizen responder means registering, filling in a short form (name, email, phone number) and providing evidence of first aid training.

Beyond the alerts themselves, the Staying Alive app includes a free map of registered defibrillators.

The app is free on iPhone through the App Store and on Android through Google Play.

The Staying Alive service is deployed in 90 French départements, and in Belgium and Luxembourg. To check whether your area is covered, open your account and select “Network coverage”.

Our ambition is to cover the whole of France and to extend to other countries, to improve how cardiac arrest victims are cared for and save as many lives as possible. If you work for an emergency service or a public authority outside France, start here.

The app does not need to be open for you to be alerted. The phone must be switched on and location services enabled.

The phone must be switched on with location services enabled. On iPhone you can allow “critical alerts” for Staying Alive, so the alert sounds even on silent or do not disturb.

Yes. A mobile data or wifi connection is required to receive an alert.

Very little. The location processes are optimised to minimise battery use.

Not necessarily a bug. There are more than 500,000 citizen responders for around 60 alerts a day, and responders closer to the scene may have been dispatched instead of you.

A defibrillator is a medical device that delivers an electric shock to the victim. The shock resets the electrical circuit of the heart, giving it the chance to resume a normal rhythm.

Open the defibrillator and follow the spoken instructions. Apply the pads: one below the right collarbone, the other below the left breast. Connect the cable if it is not connected already. The defibrillator then announces that it is analysing the heart rhythm and that nobody should touch the victim. The analysis takes a few seconds, and touching the victim disturbs it.

Two outcomes are possible:

• Shock advised: the device either delivers the shock itself or asks you to, depending on whether it is fully automatic or semi-automatic. On a semi-automatic model, press the flashing button. Do not touch the victim.

• No shock advised: resume chest compressions.

In every case, leave the pads in place until professional responders arrive.

In the Staying Alive app, open the map and tap the “+” sign.

Tap “Edit” and the photo icon appears.

Tap “Report a problem”, select the problem type, then describe it in the comment field.

Yes, for some fields. Deleting a defibrillator entry is not possible.

No. An internet connection is required to access the defibrillator map.

The dispatcher at the fire and rescue service or the emergency medical service triggers the alert. Citizen responders are never dispatched automatically without a professional decision.

Yes, you are alerted even when the app is not running in the background. But if you delete the app, you stop being alerted.

The notification uses a distinct sound, so it is easy to recognise.

On iPhone you can allow “critical alerts” for Staying Alive, so the alert sounds even when the phone is on silent or do not disturb.

Listen to the alert sound

The alert radius depends on the area, urban or rural, on population density and on the dispatcher’s own settings. The average radius is 250 to 500 metres.

1. You receive the alert triggered by the emergency service, asking whether you are available.

2. If you are, the dispatcher is notified.

3. They send you the address automatically if they need you. The app shows the distance and the average time to get there, on foot or by vehicle depending on the distance.

4. You confirm with one tap that you are on your way, and the dispatcher is notified.

5. The app guides you, through Staying Alive or Google Maps, whichever you prefer.

6. On arrival, tap “On scene” in the app.

7. If you arrive before the emergency services, tell the people present that you were sent by the emergency service, then start chest compressions or take over from the first witness until professional responders arrive.

7b. If the emergency services are already there, ask how you can help.

The video call lets the citizen responder and the dispatcher open a live video link through Staying Alive, so the dispatcher can see the situation. It requires you to grant Staying Alive access to your phone’s camera and microphone.

Yes. Cardio First Angel, for example, makes a simple device that helps with chest compressions.

Depending on the distance, you cannot always arrive before the emergency services. That has to be accepted.

As a citizen responder you are under no obligation and you do not replace professional responders. At best, you are an addition to them.

If you do not answer, or answer no, you are not identified.

The system alerts the other citizen responders nearby. In every case, professional resources are dispatched.

It is possible, but neither certain nor simple. The request goes to the emergency service that dispatched you, not to Staying Alive.

Staying Alive has run a volunteer local coordinator programme since 2025.
Its objectives are:

DEVELOPMENT
– To have a direct point of contact in every territory where we are deployed.
– To grow the number of citizen responders, particularly in small municipalities.
– To engage local businesses and decision-makers.

VISIBILITY
– To make the app known and encourage people to register.
– To share news about Staying Alive.
– To promote the role of citizen responders and see their work recognised.

SUPPORT
– To support citizen responders after an intervention.
– To roll out our training programme.
– To make the public aware of why first aid training matters.

Being a local coordinator means:
– knowing the emergency response world well
– being the link between Staying Alive and citizen responders
– listening actively, with empathy and care
– speaking for Staying Alive
– having some time to give.

What the role can involve:
– contacting citizen responders after an intervention;
– sharing our news on social media;
– building links with local organisations: training providers, so they mention the app, and companies, so events are easier to arrange;
– approaching the local authority to present the programme and to have a citizen responder publicly recognised.