function returnStatus(req, status) {
//console.log(req);
if(status == 200) {
console.log("The url is available");
// send an event
}
else {
console.log("The url returned status code " + status);
// send a different event
}
}

function fetchStatus(address) {
var client = new XMLHttpRequest();
client.onreadystatechange = function() {
// in case of network errors this might not give reliable results
if(this.readyState == 4)
returnStatus(this, this.status);
}
client.open(“HEAD”, address);
client.send();
}

fetchStatus("/");