8 Tips to Keep in Mind in Case of Emergencies

Parents, teachers and students have great cause for concern in the wake of the bomb scare that happened at the Ateneo de Manila Campus last week. The event justifies a need to learn more about how to properly respond to an emergency situation. 

Some years ago, we also interviewed the Traffic Safety and Security Coordinator for the Ateneo Grade School for safety pointers both on campus and off for parents and their children.  Here are eight more pointers we should take note of in the event of a situation.

Related stories: 

• 17 School Safety Tips for Your Big Kid 

• 4 Tips to Keeping Kids Safe in School 

• Ensuring your child’s safety in school 

 

1. Do not panic. 

Fear can be contagious. When someone is panicking, other people may have a tendency to lose their cool as well. Keeping a level head will prevent the situation from escalating.  

A case in point – during the bomb scare in Ateneo, worried parents began to park their cars on Katipunan, the main road in front of the campus. They abandoned their vehicles and entered the school in a frantic search for their children. While this was a normal and understandable reaction, it caused a major bottleneck that prevented rescuers and other emergency services from arriving in a timely fashion. 

Take control of your own faculties first and you will be more ready to deal with the emergency.  If you can’t calm down, don’t attempt anything except dialing an emergency number as you can easily make mistakes (more on that later).

 

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2. Breathe deeply.Take long, deep breaths and focus. Avoid panting, as you will increase the rush of adrenaline and the urge to panic. Your brain needs oxygen in order to function properly and you need to be thinking clearly in an emergency. 

 

3. Be prepared for an emergency. 

 The Girl Scouts have this down pat. Even with all the care and preventive measures you undertake to keep from having accidents or incidents, things happen. One of the best things you can do is be at the ready for an emergency. 

Do your research. The internet has many websites that deal with various situations and it helps to read up on these situations before a fire, flood or earthquake actually occurs – ready.gov and environment-agency.gov.uk can give tips. 

For more localized information for situations such as flooding, you can check out nababaha.com and noah.dost.gov.ph. You can learn more about medical emergencies from webmd.com or mayoclinic.org. 

• Learn basic first aid techniques such as CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.

• Put together a first aid kit with emergency instructions.  You can also put together emergency response kits for things like flooding (spare batteries, flashlights, water containers, radios, etc.). 

Related stories: In Case of Emergency: 4 Survival Skills Every Parent Should Have 

Form a Good Family Habit: Be Prepared for Disasters 

Typhoon Preparation and Checklist 

• Keep important numbers near your phone such as your work and cell phone numbers, the contact info of a relative or neighbor, your family doctor, towing services, etc.

 

4. Take stock of the situation.

 Once you’re calm, levelheaded and breathing evenly, you must decide on what you need to do and carry it out.  Think about the courses of action you plan to make (“Will I climb out the window of the house and onto the roof if the floodwater is coming in through the front door? Or should I stay and try to swim out?”) and the possible consequences (“If I don’t climb out, will I drown?”). Time is of the essence. This part is tricky – you have to balance things between being panicky and rushing, and slow and careful. If you rush, you may make mistakes that will waste time and exacerbate the situation. Before you act, make sure it’s worth it but once you decide, commit to the decision. Do not waste time.  

 

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5. Call the right people. 

Call your local emergency number such as 117 (connects to the PNP and the Bureau of Fire Protection), 143 (Red Cross) or 136 (MMDA). Even if you have chosen a course of action (break out the fire extinguisher, pull the fire alarm, etc.), call them anyway. If you’re with other people and you are busy (applying a tourniquet, breaking open a fire exit door, etc.), choose one specific person to dial for help – preferably the closest to you (either proximity or someone you know, your choice).  Don’t yell out instructions to no one in particular; everyone else will assume someone else will make the call.

 

6. Follow the professionals.

If there are authority figures already on the scene (security, firemen, paramedics, police, etc.), do what they tell you so as to maintain order in the situation and in doing so, you become part of the solution instead of an additional problem. If you are on the phone with an emergency dispatcher, follow their instructions and don't hang up.

 

7. Do not get in the way.

It may sound callous, but, no matter how bad things get, do not help other people if it puts your life or health at risk. Even firemen, paramedics and police will refrain from entering a burning or structurally-unsound building if the situation is too dangerous. You will make things worse if you get hurt – you will become one more person in need of rescuing and that will only make things harder. Stay out of danger.  

 

8. Relax.

If you’ve done all you could, stay calm and rest. Wait for the emergency response people to show up if they haven’t arrived yet. Keep breathing deeply and remind yourself that you’ve done all you could.  Let the experts do their job – that’s what they’re trained to do.

Try to assist any injured people as best as you can – visualize what you would need if you were in their shoes. In a situation where several people require assistance, help the most seriously injured first. If you need something, like water, cloth or a splint, ask someone else to help - never leave someone unattended unless absolutely necessary.

 

Photo from theguardian.com