A Manitoba man who worked to get an emergency defibrillator installed in a hockey arena found the device was in the right place when he needed it.

Perry Batchelor, a police officer in the community of Altona, was refereeing a hockey game on Saturday when he collapsed on the ice.

People in the arena rushed to his assistance. They performed CPR and also used an automated emergency defibrillator, or AED, which was available in the building.

Darcy Thissen, one of the people who helped the man, said the defibrillator, which delivers an electric stimulus to the heart muscles, was crucial.

"Doing the CPR compressions obviously helped," Thissen said, "But the AED was the life-saver in this story."

Batchelor was taken to hospital. He has had heart surgery and is now recovering.

The twist to the story is that Batchelor was behind having the device installed. Thissen said it was a wise move.

"I think they should be everywhere in public places," Thissen said. "It saved a life here."

Irv Braun, the fire chief for the community, said the best part about the device was that it was quickly deployed and easy to use.

"It tells you exactly what steps to follow," Braun said. "It tells you when to shock. It tells you when to start doing CPR again, so it's essentially foolproof."

Altona is about 125 kilometres south of Winnipeg.