City of Pittsburgh unveils the first outdoor, public AED downtown

PITTSBURGH — City officials, emergency medical leaders and community partners gathered Oct. 14, at Frankie Pace Park to dedicate Pittsburgh’s first outdoor, 24-hour publicly accessible automated external defibrillator.

The installation honors the legacy of the Freedom House Ambulance Service and its founding member, John Moon.

The outdoor SaveStation Tower housing a ZOLL AED three is located at 901 Centre Avenue. City officials recognize the surrounding area as the birthplace of modern emergency medical services in the United States.

Freedom House Ambulance Service was founded in the Hill District in 1967, pioneering advanced prehospital emergency care and helping establish a model for modern emergency medical services across the United States. Pittsburgh EMS has since revived the Freedom House name through its EMT Training Academy to train new generations of first responders.

The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony, the unveiling of the SaveStation Tower and public demonstrations showing how bystanders can access the ZOLL AED three and perform hands-on CPR during a cardiac emergency.

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