Moving an Ill or Injured Person- Emergency Moves

Emergency Moves

If you are in a situation where an ill or injured person is in need of first aid or CPR, but they are in a unsafe environment (such as a building that is on fire or a room with carbon monoxide fumes), you will need to move the person to a safer area. So how do you properly move that victim from Point A to Point B, especially if you are the only rescuer there?

First things first, it is always advised that if the surroundings are safe, you should NOT move a victim and provide first aid or start CPR right where they collapsed. The reason that we want to prevent any movement, is so that we do not make an existing injury any worse (i.e. spinal injury).

But if you HAVE to move a victim from an unsafe area to a safer area, here are three techniques you can use:

Extremity Drag – Grasp and pull on the ankles and forearms

Clothing Drag – Pull on a person’s shirt in the neck and shoulder area

Blanket Drag – Roll the person onto a blanket and drag the blanket

A few tips: Use your legs and not your back and avoid twisting the victim’s body as you drag them to safety.

Want to learn more first aid techniques such as this one? Sign up for one of our First Aid or CPR classes!

Square One offers Community CPR Classes, Workplace CPR Classes, and Virtual Mini-CPR/Choking Classes (not for certification).

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Sources: https://www.cert-la.com/cert-training-education/lifts-carries/

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