FROM SLIDER GILMORE’S PRESENTATION 8 MAY 99 AT THE NCOM CONVENTION IN PHOENIX, AZ.

When an accident occurs you, someone you know or someone you don’t know will need help. Sliders’ presentation focused on you being the one who provides the knowledge, responsibility and control in an accident situation.

The knowledge that you should have includes: basic life support actions, first aid, accident scene management, psychological management of the involved parties, how to talk to the EMT’s and medical personnel, how to activate the EMS (911) system and how to recognize the mechanisms of injury.

Basic life support actions include checking for pulse/breathing, clearing the airway, stopping the bleeding, stabilizing/immobilizing the person, keeping them talking to ward off shock and to give you vital information.

You must know that there is a time period known as the “golden hour” which is comprised of 10 minutes in the field rendering first aid, with transportation to a medical facility, emergency room handling and surgical intervention, as required, filling out the remaining 50 minutes of the golden hour.

The first 10 minutes are critical and you must do the following:

1. A rapid primary observation and evaluation of the injured parties: Treat everyone as needing urgent care at the beginning. A rapid primary observation will allow you to identify any non-urgent cases, so that you can move to those requiring urgent care.

2. Lifesaving intervention: check the pulse / breathing and handle first. Check for bleeding and handle. Call for EMT help, Get help from medically trained people who may be on site or in the area.

3. Stabilize/immobilize: Continue first aid actions, talk to the injured person and keep them talking to you, hold their head still or tell the person to not move or turn their head. Do whatever you can to make things better for the injured person.

4. Reevaluate the injured persons condition by observation and asking them the following questions ( write their answers down if you can ).
a. Who are they? ( get the full name )
b.Where are they?
c. What day is it?

Ask these Q’s from time to time. The answers will help you evaluate the persons condition. Note any changes that you encounter.

Also ask them :
a. Are you allergic to anything?
b. Have you taken any drugs, medicine or alcohol?
c. Any medical problems in the past?
d. When was your last meal?
e. What were you doing before the accident?

Look for any medical alert bracelets. Note down any information you get. The EMT’s need to know these things.

Accident scene management entails dealing with traffic, handling any hazardous materials such as gas, oil , etc. and blood (seriously!), noting if power lines are involved, preventing or handling fire and creating a circle of safety around the injured people.

Accident scene management means that you take charge of the situation and enlist the aid of other people to take care of the gas, oil, fire prevention, controlling traffic, taking notes, care giving and etc. In the accident situation the most competent person attends to the injured.

When the 911 call is made the caller needs to say the following:
a. Had an accident.
b. Need an ambulance, ( specify if you need a life flight, a fire truck, the jaws of life, a utilities truck or whatever.)
c. Number of injured.
d. Location of the accident. e. The caller hangs up last.

When the EMT’s arrive provide parking and if necessary direct them to the accident scene. Let them know who has been in charge. The EMT’s need to know what happened and the status of the injured parties. Then get out of the way and let the EMT’s do their job.


By remaining calm and doing the actions listed above, you can greatly increase the survival potential of a person who has gone down.