First Aid and Emergency Response

Why it matters

When someone goes down, the first five minutes belong to the crew, not the ambulance. Severe bleeding can kill in minutes; help is often 10 to 20 minutes away. Knowing who calls, who treats, and where the kit is turns panic into a procedure.

Hazards

• ⚠ Nobody trained in first aid on the crew when clinics are far, violating 1926.50(c)
• ⚠ First aid kits missing, raided, or locked away
• ⚠ No one able to give the site address to 911
• ⚠ Severe bleeding untreated while waiting for EMS
• ⚠ Moving a back or neck injury victim and making it worse

Controls and safe practices

• ✓ At least one first-aid trained person on site when a clinic is not reasonably close, per 1926.50(c).
• ✓ Weatherproof first aid kit stocked and checked weekly, per 1926.50(d). Add a tourniquet and pressure bandages.
• ✓ Post the site address and nearest ER at the trailer and in every work truck.
• ✓ Assign roles in the first minute: one calls 911, one treats, one meets the ambulance at the entrance.
• ✓ For severe bleeding: direct pressure hard and constant; tourniquet high and tight if pressure fails.
• ✓ Do not move someone with a possible spine injury unless fire or collapse forces it.

Crew discussion questions

1. Who on this crew is current on first aid and CPR?
2. Can everyone state this site’s address right now?
3. Where is the kit, and when was it last checked?
4. Who meets the ambulance, and where?

Applicable OSHA standards

29 CFR 1926.50, 29 CFR 1926.23

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