Lesson 1: GENERAL EMERGENCY INSTRUCTION
EVALUATING THE SCENE
Before you begin to care for the victim(s) of a medical emergency, there are a few basic steps you must follow to ensure the safety of the victim, bystanders, and yourself.
EVALUATING THE SCENE
This step is critical in ensuring the safety of all involved in the incident, even those people who may have come upon the scene after the initial incident. Before you’re able to provide care to any victims, you must determine what happened. Rushing into a burning car to rescue a victim looks very dramatic and exciting on TV, but in reality, you must make sure the scene is safe enough for you to get involved. If you rush into an emergency scene, you may be endangering your life—a potential rescuer turned victim because you didn’t know what was happening. For our purposes in this lesson, we’ll use three different scenarios: a car accident, a house fire, and an incident of undetermined origin. We’ll also use 911 as our emergency number in this lesson, but be sure you know your area’s emergency number if you’re not in the US, or in an area that does not utilize the 911 system.
Evaluating the scene of the incident consists of four questions you must ask yourself:
1. WHAT HAPPENED?
The car accident: Can you determine what caused it? Is there more than one vehicle involved? Is it a minor fender bender, or a very serious crash?
The fire: What caused the fire? Is the fire still burning, or does it appear to be out? Is there a lot of smoke?
The undetermined incident: Can you tell anything at all from the scene? Be very thorough when trying to determine what happened. Are there any witnesses that can help you figure out what happened? Can any of your other senses assist in your evaluation? Do you SMELL gas? Do you HEAR the rattle of a snake in nearby bushes? Do you FEEL electricity in the air? Use any means possible to try and figure out what happened.
2. IS THE SCENE SAFE?
The car accident: Did the accident occur in traffic lanes? Is oncoming traffic a hazard for the victims and rescuers?
The fire: Is the fire still burning? Are victims and rescuers in potential danger of coming into contact with fire and smoke?
The undetermined incident: You must be very careful here, since you don’t know what happened. Obviously, if the victim has had a heart attack, you are in no danger when providing care. But what if the victim is unconscious at his kitchen table, due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty furnace? In some ways, the threat of danger is greatest in a situation where you just don’t know what happened.
3. HOW MANY VICTIMS ARE THERE?
The car accident: Are there multiple vehicles involved? How many occupants in each vehicle that was involved in the accident? Were any occupants thrown from the vehicle? These victims may be some distance away from the scene of the accident.
The fire: How many people are inside the house? This may be impossible to determine at the time. Did anyone escape the fire, only to collapse of smoke inhalation some distance from the house? Can neighbors tell you if the family was home, or away?
The undetermined incident: Is there one victim lying on the lawn, or is there more than one person affected with symptoms? For instance, a family of four all complaining of the same symptoms may be able to help you better understand what happened.
4. IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN HELP? There are almost always bystanders and/or witnesses at the scene of any emergency. You need to quickly determine if any of them are willing and able to assist you.
The car accident: Most of the time, other motorists will stop to offer aid. Take advantage of this: the more help, the better. Enlist one person to call 911, and ask if anyone is trained in first aid.
The fire: Any neighbors who are home at the time of a house fire will almost certainly come out to see what’s going on. As above, get someone to call 911 while you glean any pertinent information from the neighbors.
The undetermined incident: If there are others at the scene, enlist their aid as above. If it’s just you, yell for help, no matter where you are. You may or may not get a response, but it’s always best to try.
