Fire Explorers Complete Stop the Bleed Training

A release from the Stoneham Fire Explorers:

STONEHAM, MA - A person who is bleeding can die from blood loss within five minutes. Emergency responders will arrive as quickly as possible, but bystanders are almost always there first. In the case of disaster and high casualty incidents, emergency services are often spread thin.

The “Stop the Bleed” course was designed and funded by the Department of Homeland Security after the Sandy Hook shooting. It is a combination of lectures and hands-on training on what to do in case of injuries like those sustained in a mass shooting or intentional mass casualty incident such as what we experienced during the Boston Marathon Bombing incident.

Five minutes can be the difference between life and death. If someone is losing blood, five minutes of that blood loss can be fatal. What students are learning to do is try to buy a victim enough time for trained medical professionals to arrive and help.

On April 2nd, the Stoneham Fire Explorers participated in the “Stop The Bleed” training initiative and learned the “ABCs” of trauma response: A (Alert), call 911; B (Bleeding), find the bleeding injury; C (Compress), apply pressure to stop the bleeding by covering the wound with a clean cloth (if possible) and applying pressure by pushing on it directly with both hands OR using a tourniquet OR packing (stuffing the wound with gauze or a clean cloth and then applying pressure with both hands.)

The Explorers learned how to apply effective direct pressure, how to pack wounds, how to use quick-clot (or combat gauze) and how to properly apply tourniquets.

The training was led by Lahey Health Trauma Nurse Sandi Mackey, MSN, RN, TCRN and assisted by SMSgt. Rebecca Marrs, an EMT with the United States Air Force.

“We cannot predict when we will have injuries or the types of injuries we will have,” Mackey said. “But we can train people so that if this ever does happen in your community or your school system, you can apply these techniques very quickly to increase the chance of survival.”

At the conclusion of the training program, twenty-two members of the Fire Explorer Program received certificates acknowledging their completion of the training program and effectively demonstrating the practical skills they learned. Tourniquets and QuickClot Combat Gauze will now be added to the First Aid & Trauma Bags used by the Fire Explorers when they are on duty.

For more information on the “Stop The Bleed” national training initiative, please visit www.bleedingcontrol.org