When 911 Isn't Five Minutes Away

You call 911.

Help is coming.

But what happens between the call and the arrival?

In a serious medical emergency, those minutes can matter. Until professional responders arrive, the people already there may be the only help available.

The Gap

Calling 911 gets the response moving. It doesn't stop what's happening in front of you.

Even under normal circumstances, traffic, distance, building access, crowded events or remote locations can add time.

But sometimes the situation itself prevents responders from reaching you.

During a hurricane, emergency services may suspend or restrict responses when conditions become too dangerous. Flooded or blocked roads can make locations inaccessible. During an active shooting or other violent incident, medical responders may have to wait until an area is safe enough to enter.

And during a large-scale emergency, there may simply be more calls for help than available responders.

That's a very different situation from waiting a few extra minutes for an ambulance.

If you're already there, you're not replacing the professionals.

But you may need to manage the situation longer than you expected.

Look Around Before You Need It

Emergency equipment is all around us, but most people barely notice it.

You've probably walked past AEDs in airports, schools, gyms, workplaces, churches and stores without giving them much thought.

The same may be true of first-aid and bleeding-control kits.

Where's the AED at your workplace?

Where's the first-aid kit?

Does your school, church or workplace have a bleeding-control kit?

And who actually knows how to use them?

That's preparedness too.

Get the Training

This is one area where owning the equipment—or watching a few videos—isn't enough.

Take a CPR/AED course.

Learn how to respond to choking.

Learn how to control life-threatening bleeding.

Learn basic first aid.

Whenever possible, get real, hands-on instruction and practice the skills yourself.

You don't need to become a paramedic.

You need enough training that an emergency isn't the first time you've tried to figure out what to do.

Because sometimes 911 is five minutes away.

Sometimes it's twenty.

And sometimes, because of what's happening around you, they simply can't get to you yet.

Call for help.

Then be prepared for the time before it arrives.

Learn what to do in the gap.

Plans reduce Panic, Preparation creates options. Options create confidence.

— Urban Survival Craft