So it's pissing rain as per the usual and I'm driving a few coworkers who don't have cars of their own and live nearby (I'm not thatnice after all). When Mr.Fastandfurious comes zooming past. Now it's raining hard enough that you can barely see the road let alone other idiots on said road. But this idiot is one of those ones who keeps changing lanes because following another car is for lesser folks.
So we all hear the disaster happen before we see it. It turns out the aforementioned idiot from earlier didn't see that the cars ahead had slowed down due to congestion. Because hey, everyone else works to, imagine that!
Well either he plowed into them, unable to stop because of his speed, or he tried to stop and hydroplaned into them... At speeds of over 100. I know because when he passed me he was going at least 100 in an 80zone.
I would like to point out here that due to my training and the type of training I've had I legally have to stop and assist in the case of a mass triage event or HAZMAT event of the big kind. I am criminally liable if I don't.
So I pull over and put my four ways on, and grab Burt and Ernie from the back
(Burt is my Level 3 Kit and Ernie is my Military M17 Combat Medic Kit. I come from a very much military family, hence the ridiculous first aid training amongst other stuff), I tell my coworkers to one, dial 911 and stay on the line so I can forward info, 2-someone else call work and explain why we aren't coming in today, 3-grab the flashlights, blankets, and bundle of priority stickers, and glow sticks of doom and follow me on the shitastic adventure of a decade.
While I herd everyone who looks like they were missed and the looky loos to help. I go over the basics of this is how the triage colours work, this is how to catagorize casualties. Keep calm because calm is contagious and freaked out bleeding people bleed faster when freaked out. It's not a very difficult system. Slap a sticker on them.
Black for dead
Red for immediate high priority.
Yellow for oh shit this could get bad
Green for those who can do without medical treatment for a few hours.
The glowsticks serve two purposes. One, people tend to fear the dark and being alone and in pain tends to freak them out. The glow stick is also not enough light to really take stock of injuries. Two, and more importantly, it's hard to miss something glowing. When I picked them up at the dollar store I colour coded them (red-yellow) so that the worst off could be easily spotted. This is neither standard issue or procedure but I find it helps in shitty conditions and mass triage events tend to be pretty shitty conditions.
(Also, lighting up black casualties is a bad bad idea so it's not done. It's also why they are referred to as 'black casualties' and not 'dead' or 'bodies' as the human mind is a powerful thing. People hear black and assume the skin colour rather then dead body. Which means they don't think 'he died maybe I'm next' and if it doesn't cross their mind they are much less likely to go from red to dead, or yellow to red. I've known the walking wounded to go from green and helpful to suddenly in shock and much less helpful because the reality of death just smacked them in the face. Until then the human mind might realize it at the back of their brain but they are sort of disassociated from the idea until some asshat points it out.)
We work back to front so as to not miss anyone.
Those with actual first aid training however basic teach are paired with absolutely none as the second wave follows with blankets, coats, and anything that can keep the rain off and shock at bay. While applying basic first aid to casualties.
Things like talking to them, finding out their name and using it all help them keep conscious (people are taught from a young age that it's rude to ignore it when someone calls your name and so when they hear their name it sort of instinctively catches their attention. Kinda like a morbid version of Pavlos Bell). Applying pressure with bandages or tourniquets, having someone plant their elbows and hold a head (and thus neck and spine) in place. Reminding them help is on the way... All things that are small and easy to do but have a larger impact over all then one would think. Getting someone to corral and keep the kids busy so the parents can help without having to worry about their kid seeing something they shouldn't.
Someone had those reflective cones in the back of their car which were pulled out and used to prevent a second person from playing bumper cars.
My shadowing coworker kept a count to the person on the phone over how many and what colours of casualties there were.
Ambulances pulled up, were organized in such a way that they were able to stop, park, grab whomever, and pull forward and out in such a way that didn't require backing up or fancy manoeuvring. They were told what was going on, and did their thing while I unashamedly sat out in a corner.
Thankfully kids were mostly in school so there were no injuries to any kids and most of the drivers were 20s or older. Adults for some reason don't bother me so much.
For those that are interested.
| [accident scene] |
| |x [my car/command central]
|[Ambo][A][A] [1]|
| |
(1)gap left so that the ambulances could merely pull forward
(2) cones were placed across the road with enough space for an Ambo to park between them. This allowed for a clear marked place to park and a means of letting people know there was a problem before the ambos got there.
As far as I know, nobody but the idiot who caused the accident died. But everyone he hit with his car was in the red. Better red then dead though.
Now I have to restock Burt and Ernie. Yes I named them. Yes I do in fact realize just how screwed up and morbid that is.
So we all hear the disaster happen before we see it. It turns out the aforementioned idiot from earlier didn't see that the cars ahead had slowed down due to congestion. Because hey, everyone else works to, imagine that!
Well either he plowed into them, unable to stop because of his speed, or he tried to stop and hydroplaned into them... At speeds of over 100. I know because when he passed me he was going at least 100 in an 80zone.
I would like to point out here that due to my training and the type of training I've had I legally have to stop and assist in the case of a mass triage event or HAZMAT event of the big kind. I am criminally liable if I don't.
So I pull over and put my four ways on, and grab Burt and Ernie from the back
(Burt is my Level 3 Kit and Ernie is my Military M17 Combat Medic Kit. I come from a very much military family, hence the ridiculous first aid training amongst other stuff), I tell my coworkers to one, dial 911 and stay on the line so I can forward info, 2-someone else call work and explain why we aren't coming in today, 3-grab the flashlights, blankets, and bundle of priority stickers, and glow sticks of doom and follow me on the shitastic adventure of a decade.
While I herd everyone who looks like they were missed and the looky loos to help. I go over the basics of this is how the triage colours work, this is how to catagorize casualties. Keep calm because calm is contagious and freaked out bleeding people bleed faster when freaked out. It's not a very difficult system. Slap a sticker on them.
Black for dead
Red for immediate high priority.
Yellow for oh shit this could get bad
Green for those who can do without medical treatment for a few hours.
The glowsticks serve two purposes. One, people tend to fear the dark and being alone and in pain tends to freak them out. The glow stick is also not enough light to really take stock of injuries. Two, and more importantly, it's hard to miss something glowing. When I picked them up at the dollar store I colour coded them (red-yellow) so that the worst off could be easily spotted. This is neither standard issue or procedure but I find it helps in shitty conditions and mass triage events tend to be pretty shitty conditions.
(Also, lighting up black casualties is a bad bad idea so it's not done. It's also why they are referred to as 'black casualties' and not 'dead' or 'bodies' as the human mind is a powerful thing. People hear black and assume the skin colour rather then dead body. Which means they don't think 'he died maybe I'm next' and if it doesn't cross their mind they are much less likely to go from red to dead, or yellow to red. I've known the walking wounded to go from green and helpful to suddenly in shock and much less helpful because the reality of death just smacked them in the face. Until then the human mind might realize it at the back of their brain but they are sort of disassociated from the idea until some asshat points it out.)
We work back to front so as to not miss anyone.
Those with actual first aid training however basic teach are paired with absolutely none as the second wave follows with blankets, coats, and anything that can keep the rain off and shock at bay. While applying basic first aid to casualties.
Things like talking to them, finding out their name and using it all help them keep conscious (people are taught from a young age that it's rude to ignore it when someone calls your name and so when they hear their name it sort of instinctively catches their attention. Kinda like a morbid version of Pavlos Bell). Applying pressure with bandages or tourniquets, having someone plant their elbows and hold a head (and thus neck and spine) in place. Reminding them help is on the way... All things that are small and easy to do but have a larger impact over all then one would think. Getting someone to corral and keep the kids busy so the parents can help without having to worry about their kid seeing something they shouldn't.
Someone had those reflective cones in the back of their car which were pulled out and used to prevent a second person from playing bumper cars.
My shadowing coworker kept a count to the person on the phone over how many and what colours of casualties there were.
Ambulances pulled up, were organized in such a way that they were able to stop, park, grab whomever, and pull forward and out in such a way that didn't require backing up or fancy manoeuvring. They were told what was going on, and did their thing while I unashamedly sat out in a corner.
Thankfully kids were mostly in school so there were no injuries to any kids and most of the drivers were 20s or older. Adults for some reason don't bother me so much.
For those that are interested.
| [accident scene] |
| |x [my car/command central]
|[Ambo][A][A] [1]|
| |
(1)gap left so that the ambulances could merely pull forward
(2) cones were placed across the road with enough space for an Ambo to park between them. This allowed for a clear marked place to park and a means of letting people know there was a problem before the ambos got there.
As far as I know, nobody but the idiot who caused the accident died. But everyone he hit with his car was in the red. Better red then dead though.
Now I have to restock Burt and Ernie. Yes I named them. Yes I do in fact realize just how screwed up and morbid that is.
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