I am being charged with putting together a medical pack that will get people from the 32nd floor down to street level where first responders can treat the people we are able to evacuate. However it is our policy to evacuate any injured to the nearest floor, if they are movable, then we are to treat them until a first responder team is able to make it to them. In the case that communications are knocked out I was wondering about what sort of communications would be able to reach out for help. I was also thinking about older people on blood thinners who could bleed out due to a gash. Would you go with quick clot and filed dressings to hold things together until better help arrives? What medicine for a heart attack? etc. etc. etc. Lets try to keep this bag under $150. Thanks in advance for all your idea's and help!
most important item would be a portable defib pack for heart attacks but that exceeds the cost... leave all topicals and pills out of the kit as they will be robbed/used and not replaced... get a large box of asst bandaids for everyday use .. . here are a few suggestions from my medic bag...less speciality items... 3 roller gauze bandages 5 non sterile gauze 4x4 pads<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<img src=" /> 6 sterile gauze 4x4 pads 6 sterile non adherent 3x4 pads 1 flexible padded splints 2 multi trauma dressings 12x30 2 ABD combine dressings 5x9 1 Tourn-ikwick tk4 combat tourniquet 3 blood stopper trauma dressings 4 triangular bandages with 2 pins 4 Chux field pads 1 EMT utility scissors 1 Kelly forceps 12 pair sterile latex gloves 10 non sterile nitrile gloves 4 Ace 3” bandages 4 Ace 6” bandages 2 medical tape (Paper) 2 medical tape (Cloth) if posible consider an evacuation chair...
Great thanks, I will attempt to include all of these items plus AMK's Trauma Pak for quick use, hydrogen peroxide, and Vaseline petroleum jelly.
I'm currently going through a CERT class, I suggest you try to find one locally and go through it as well. Think - triage like on the show MASH. Your objective will be to do the most good for the most people. This may sound cold hearted, but don't worry about the heart attack people. If you spend your time trying to do CPR how many other people can you help? Oh, and you probably cannot administer meds unless you are specifically trained to do so. Something to add to the above list - a sharpie, duct tape, small note book & pen/pencil. Sharpie & Duct tape (only if needed) to mark & identify the wounded. This will indicate that the person has been triaged already. notebook & writing instrument - document where people are, where you have searched for wounded. Give that to the first responders, it will save them valuable time. As far as the AED, check with the company to see if they will get them, along with the training. The company I work for has on on each floor (2 story building) and offered FREE first aid, CPR, & AED training. Out of 300+ employees 12 took the class. Be careful with putting a tourniquet in the kit. According to my CERT & 1st AID course, once a tourniquet is applied only a DR can remove. After talking with a several firefighters, EMT's & paramedics I have yet to find one that has ever used a tourniquet. Just remember if you use one keep it as close to the damaged area as possible since everything below it will be dead. Also, be careful about having latex gloves in the kit, you never know who will have a latex allergy. Add a pair or 2 of utility gloves, useful for moving debris. put the medical gloves on, the the utility gloves on top, remove the utility gloves when working on someone. I like Witch Doctors list. I'm currently working on upgrading my kit based on my CERT and 1st Aid courses.
I have been AED, First Aid, and CPR certified for a few years now. I will look into the CERT classes they seem very cool! Thanks!
You could get in a volunteer fire department and rescue squad and take the emt course for free. Same with all the fire training. You just have to join and run some calls.
An evacuation down 32 floors with no elevator and competition with the other 31 floors is going to be a nightmare. At best. An evacuation chair - and the training to use it is a good idea. My I suggest that in addition to the simple FAK listed earlier, that you consider the procurement of enough N-95 masks for the full compliment of your employees -- for use in a smoky evacuation. Good luck.
TE, take a page from the airlines, and see if you can't get the building management to implement a proper order of evacuation, bottom floors first to keep the stairways flowing instead of combat zones at each stairway access.
CERT classes are very cool. I recommend them. You can never have too much info - from too many different sources - to cover what one of those sources might have missed.
You can use the ace bandages to replace the tourniquet i include it generally for the most severe cases... my backrouund includes having to poetentially deal with tramatic amputations and as a result tend to keep one handy... another item might be to incudle an eyewash kit...
On the Comms question, it all depends, on a few factors of the building design. If the building has a lot of glass on the outside surfaces, then a Burner Cellphone, would be very appropriate to include in the Kit. This way of the building loses power, you still have the Cellphone to communicate with 911, and the First Responders, thru their Dispatch Center. This can be recharged with Minutes as required. The only issue would be, keeping the Phone's Battery charged, but with the New Lithium based Batteries, the self discharge rate would likely mean it would only have to be serviced once a month, for an hour or two. If the building does not have Cell service in the interior, or the building uses a Cell Repeater System powered by the building power, then you will just not have Comms, should the power Fail, while doing the transport to ground floor. Elevators are the first thing shut down in Fire and EarthQuake senerios, so at that point you would need a complete Backboard System, or Stokes Litter, to do the transport, and a BUNCH of folks to trade off, while doing the transport down the Stair system. ..... YMMV....
Very nice. I am going to have to look into those M95. I went to a meeting today and there is an evacuation plan for the building. My building has 41 floors but is only one of four that is owned by my company. With over 15,000 people working in our buildings every day they have a pretty solid structure but they make it very clear that in a major catastophy we wont be getting off our floor for 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours. Also it was brought to our attention that some of the floors are rigged with O2 deprevation fire systems. The suck the oxygen out of the room to kill the fire. These systems are automatically activated...no matter who is inside. This is to ensure that data and equipment are not lost. You have 30 seconds to reach the manual delay button that then gives you another 30 seconds to get the hell out of the room or you wont be breathing/living. It was interesting to see where the company priorities were in this case....
Combat Rescue Sling Look at this video. It is the combat rescue sling with a casualty being lowered down an industrial fire escape with rope. The rope was lowered by an anchor man at the top with 2 wraps on the top rail. This can be set up as a relay with an anchor man every 3-4 stories so you don't need huge lengths of rope. Combat Rescue Sling Stairwell Evacuation - YouTube The CRS can be used to drag victims, used as a rope ladder, a sling harness, a hasty litter, and vehicle or confined space extraction device. It is awesome. Consider aspirin for your possible heart attack victims and Combat Gauze for junctional hemorrhage at the groin, axilla and neck. Get professional training, certification, legal counsel, and liability insurance before you train with this or implement it for real. I have no financial relationship with any of these products. SS
Maybe a firefighter bailout bag and some good leather gloves. As far as the oxygen deprivation maybe one of those 5 minute scuba escape bottles? Save your butt at least.
Check out some mine safety gear, there are emergency air supplies required for tunneling and mining that can do as well. IIRC, they are good for half an hour.
Militia of Montana has a med bag for about 200 that is pre set and should cover what you need. If not I would look at an EMT bag from a safety supply company like Galls or Medco, Just Google EMT BAG or Trauma bag
just remember the people with heart conditions usually have meds to help with their condition, nitro for example.
Heart patients "generally" have meds like nitro...but they are frequently left in purses or desk drawers...not to mention that most won't usually have nitro unless they have already had their first MI...I know I wish I had had some around when I had my first. Many die from their first for that very reason. A small bottle of nitroglycerin lingual spray is a really good idea, but will probably take about a third of your stated budget. Nitro sublingual tablets are next best and under $20 last I saw. A bottle of real aspirin is a must...chewing one is almost as effective for a heart attack as nitro, just takes a bit longer. The aspirin thins the blood, while the nitro makes the vessels larger.
