For the purposes of lay-person first aid, a mass casualty incident is any time the number of injured or ill people exceeds the number of people who are able to provide aid.
This can occur in active shooter events, motor vehicle accidents, train derailments, etc..
Mass casualties can also occur in disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. In disaster mass casualty events, professional medical response may be delayed by hours - and in some cases, by days.
If you suspect a mass casualty event:
- Call 911 immediately.
- Assess the scene and do not put yourself or anyone else in additional harm.
- If you can proceed without putting yourself in danger, remove people from life threatening hazards (for example: fire, water, hazardous chemicals)
- If you suspect anyone has a neck or back injury, do not move them unless they are in danger by staying where they are.
- If you do have to move them, protect their head and neck as you transport the person.
- Identify the people who are in most need of medical attention. This sorting process is called triage. People who are in the most urgent category are:
- Require medical attention within minutes for survival (up to 60 minutes)
- People who can be helped by immediate intervention and transport
- Includes compromises to Airway, Breathing, and Circulation, and massive blood loss
- Enlist the help of others. This can include people with more minor injuries:
- Have anyone with first aid training help you. As you triage the scene, you can assign these people to provide first aid.
- Assign one person to watch for emergency response personnel and direct them to you upon arrival. If someone is panicky or getting in your way, this is a good person to assign to this task.
- Assign one or more people to crowd control.
- Identify injured people and assign one of the first aid trained volunteers to each person who requires immediate intervention. When there are more injured people than people who can help, prioritize the care.
- Continue the sorting and care process until professional medical assistance arrives. In disaster situations, this can be several hours.
