How to step up in an emergency
Posted by Ben Lumley on Mar 7, 2010 in Dealing with Problems | 28 comments
photo credit: ImNotQuiteJack
I was reminded of the importance of stepping up in an emergency recently when my friend Jen from Reach Our Dreams was involved in a road traffic accident and ended up with her car in a field. Thankfully she was absolutely fine, apart from being a little shaken up, but the people that stopped to help her made all the difference to the situation.
When faced with an emergency that has nothing to do with us, it’s often very easy to just pass on by. Why get involved? It has nothing to do with us. We can’t really help anyway. Someone else will be along in a minute. If you’ve ever thought that, you’re not alone. Many of us do it all the time without even a second thought.
But I want to challenge you to help. I want to challenge you to stop and make a difference not because you think you should but because it’s the right thing to do.
Many of us are fearful in emergency situations, not because they are scary places to be, but because we’re worried about making something worse or not knowing what to do.
For the past 10 years I have been trained specifically to deal with emergency situations including simple First Aid training, Life Guard training and most recently Medical Responder training with the UK Ambulance Service. Emergency situations are scary. They do make the heart beat faster than you’ve ever known. They can be confusing and they don’t always go to plan but if you do some simple things you can make a massive difference to people in trouble.
Keep yourself safe.
Once you’ve made the decision to help, it’s often very easy to rush in, all guns blazing, to save the day. Stop! If you bolt in there you’ll not only endanger others but you’ll also put yourself at risk and create more of a problem for the emergency services.
If you do go and help, be very aware of your surroundings and your own safety at all times. I’ve been in some very dangerous situations but have always made sure that I’m safe all the time. You need to be very aware of where you are and what you are doing so you can be the most help to others. (There’s a life lesson in there too)
Call for help.
Once you’re there and the situation warrants it, then call for help. You can’t do it all on your own and if they need to be there, you must notify the emergency services as soon as possible. But also look for help from bystanders who may be able to help too.
Comfort them.
If you’ve ever been in an emergency situation yourself you’ll know how scary it can be. People in those kind of positions are helped greatly by having someone to talk to and support them through what’s happening. Most emergency service personnel will be grateful to you for supporting someone as it leaves them to concentrate on the techincal side of things.
Talking to someone, a ressuring touch of the hand (somewhere appropriate) or a even calling a friend or a family member for them can make a massive difference. All you have to do is be there and support them.
Save a life with a simple action.
Did you know that a shockingly high number of the people who died in the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster died after the event? If you don’t know about the Hillsborough Disaster then it was a horrific football (soccer) incident in the UK where, after poor crowd control, a stampede ensued resulting in the deaths of far too many people. But many of the fatalities could of been avoided if they had been treated differently.
Many of the victims who were still alive but in very poor medical conditions were placed in safety on the pitch but laid on their backs. This resulted in them losing their airways and finally their lives as they could not breathe anymore. Sadly due to poor organisation from the authorities the necessary medical help was held back out of the ground.
The simple act of placing someone into the recovery position can save their life when they are unconscious. When you are in an unconscious state you are unable to maintain your airway, i.e keep it open allowing you to breathe. By getting someone into the recovery position you can literally save their life.
If someone is laying on the ground and is on their back after an accident or emergency then put them in to the recovery position like below.
Right now there are probably a lot of people jumping up and down all over their keyboards saying “but Ben, you can’t put someone in the recovery position because they might have a spinal injury.” I understand this. The idea of moving someone with a spinal injury further worsening their injury isn’t nice but I would argue the ability to breathe should overide any spinal injury.
What next?
If this has interested you to help people then I implore you to go and take a First Aid course. Go learn the basics and then you can step up in an emergency with more confidence.
So what would you do?
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6Aliens is a blog about inspiration, motivation and success. Ben Lumley is a Motivational Speaker and Trainer who works for no limits education inspiring young people to succeed in life.
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Really nice article and points brought out. I would say it is very important that you do not get hyper, because keeping your cool is the key to get the mind to work and decide what's best for you!
Ben, I wholeheartedly endorse your post and the call for people to go get a first aid course and CPR skills under their belt and step up in emergency circumstances.
A recent Australian survey by the College of Emergency Medicine showed that only 1 in 10 people knew CPR… this means that if YOU (if in Australia.. not sure of stats elsewhere in the world) were to have an emergency that needed CPR to save your life then you only have roughly a 10% chance of a passer by being able to save your life…. do you like those ODDS? I didn't thinks so.
DO something about it, learn the skills it may save the life of someone you love, or of a complete stranger (and remember that YOU are that complete stranger to everyone else, and you may want them to have the skills when it comes crunch time.)
There is one other important lesson that I have learned as a professional firefighter over the past 20 years. Keep this one thought in your head, it will help keep you calm and give you some confidence….
you did not cause this event to happen, but when you step up and intervene it only gets better from that point on for the people involved……..
(unless of course you are standing there helpless because you did not take the time to learn the skills needed)
Yeah calm and clear headed is the way to do it Nishant.
Hey Mick. I thought you'd like this one
I would say that the statistic of 1 in 10 would be the similar to here in the UK. I'll look it up today I think.
I think once you remove yourself from the idea that you might make things worse and develop the mindset that just about anything you do (with a clear head) will most likely make the situation better it becomes a lot easier.
Hi Ben,
This is an important post. I think everyone should have training in basic first aid. I've taken the St. John's Ambulance course a few times and it's totally worth it. Knowing what to do in an emergency can save lives, even if you only know the basics, such as making sure that the person is in the right position (not on their backs, as you say).
I also think that's really important to be calm and not panic during an emergency. Offering comfort to those affected is really important as well. I remember reading that if you are talking to an heart attack victim that you should make them as calm as possible and tell them that their chances of recovery are great so as to calm them down.
Glad that your friend was okay.
Karen
Ben,
This is an excellent post and your advice is just spot on. This really hits home with me because I work in the Public Safety world in the US. Also, about a month ago I witnessed someone getting hit by a car on a bike. Honestly, everything you said here is what I did. I'd say the most critical thing someone can do and you have pointed out is where you stated:
“But also look for help from bystanders who may be able to help too.” This means you have kept yourself safe first which said above. But you can get others involved easily. A simple thing is just to tell (in an emergency you are telling, not asking) someone to call emergency services on their mobile phone to get an ambulance or police. They can do that while you continue to provide assess the situation, provide aid or find others to help. I was going to post on this, and may still do that, but I really like how you have done this. Really great work here.
Great post. One thing I do now days is ensure I always have a high visibility jacket in my car. Three times now I've been involved in helping in traffic accidents, all 3 in dusk / darkness and always felt a lot safer knowing I'm visible to other road users and reducing the risk of me becoming another casualty.
Ben,
Great post and i'm with you on moving a casualty. When i've done any First aid training I've always been told to treat casualties in the following order; breathing, bleeding, breaks and burns. It is a while since I've done any first aid training, so the procedures may be slightly different now.
Regards
Paul
Hi Karen
Yeah comforting someone in an emergency situation is such a massive positive step and something all of us can do.
I can think of dozens of emergency situations that I've been involved with over the years where 90% of the treatment I gave was comfort. It goes a long long way.
Hey Marc
Would be really interested to read your post on this topic!
I can remember making the mistake once of asking some to go and call me an Ambulance once. They were in such a panic that they rush off and made the call from reception but never returned to tell me it was on it's way. I had to send someone else to check. Now if I'm in a situation that warrants me sending someone to get help I'll always give them another task that requires them to come back after the call. For example “can you go and call me an Ambulance, tell them I have XYZ of a patient and then bring me a first aid box back.” Works like a charm
Hey Rob – thanks for stopping by.
Yeah I have a really cool hi-vis vest in my car now. It only takes a few seconds to put on but makes me feel so much safer in poor condition. Also it makes me look important and official
Yeah the language has changed a bit Paul but the message it still the same. It's frightening though the number of people who refuse to help because they don't want to be sued because they made it worse.
Perhaps it is, but it is to be expected as well.. You always hear “When someone is injured, don't touch them until the ambulance arrives” .. I mean if they teach you that, it's only a natural result.
Yeah you do hear that but having worked alongside the Ambulance service in the past they are always more disappointed when something simply isn't done rather than when someone tries to help.
I think where the problem arises is when people try to do too much rather than just doing the simple things like comforting them, placing a person in the recovery position who is unconscious or not shouting for help.
A very timely post. It is currently summer in our part of the world, and during this time, emergencies involving fires increase at an alarming rate. I learned a lot from this article and will share it with friends. Thanks for this post.
Thanks for writing this post Ben. The guys that helped me made such a difference and it is a great idea to educate us about how we can best do the same for others. btw, you are superman Ben! your talents seem to know no end!
Thanks for sharing it around Julius – that's very kind.
Hey Jen – I'm just glad you were ok.
I like this post because it massively rings true with me.
I'm no hero, no superhuman but I have been in plenty of situations like this. WIthout going into detail out of respect for their families, it's what you do in that moment that counts.
You can stand for something or fall for nothing. Being the person who does something no matter what the odds is what it's all about
Love the sentiment dude – thanks for sharing
Helping people is great and is the right idea and this kind of situation is no different. If I was in a situation like this I know for a fact I would greatly appreciate anyone stopping to help because of basically all you've mentioned here.
Great post.
Thanks Eric – really glad you liked it
I liked this article, especially the last part about the spinal injury because I was one of them people saying no you can't do that.
The best bet in any situation that is life or death, do only what you need to do at that time to keep that person alive until emergency services arrive. Anything extra can endanger their life or yours.
Great post bud. Those people that just stop to make sure you are okay even if it is a minor fender bender are the true heroes.
Cheers Ryan – glad you liked it.
With Spinal Injuries useless your trained to know what to look for you shouldn't treat the injury. If the breathing of someone is in danger then that always take precedent for me even if there is a spinal complication.
Thanks for stopping by dude
Hey Ben, Sorry for jumping in here having done a lot of advanced, seriously advanced medical training I can tell you that in the UK at least as long as you can say there life was at risk unless you moved them, then the courts will back you 100%.
Same sentiment with motocyclists, most people think you can't remove the helmet, if have stopped breathing you have to get it off, simple. Yeah there is a technique to doing so but ultimately it comes down to life or death.
Great post man. I have stopped for plenty of these since I had some emergency response training in my earlier years for HAZMAT here in the states. Yay for you putting it out there for people to think about. Another interesting note is that my fiance told me that we have to buy a first aid kit, a safety orange jacket, and a fire extinguisher for our car in Costa Rica. They just made it a law that every car has to have those items.
Nice tip on the recovery position too. I often forget that part.
Yeah I've been in a few situations like this where my advanced medical training has been pushed pretty hard. Risk of life dictates treatment so if a life is at risk then any other injury becomes a secondary worry.
Thanks for dropping in
Hey Buddy – glad you liked it.
Yeah I have a lovely Hi-Vis jacket, medical gloves and a big first aid kit in my car. It's not law here but it really should be.