Danger first, then call for help
Stop for three seconds to check the scene is safe, then call your local emergency number and tell them exactly where you are and what happened.
STOP. LOOK. THREE SECONDS.
Check for danger before you go near
The most important person at the scene is you. A rescuer who gets hurt becomes a second casualty, and now nobody is helping. So before you step in, stop and look around for: traffic, fire or smoke, electricity (a fallen cable, an appliance still plugged in), a gas smell, water, something that could collapse, violence, and broken glass or needles. If you can make it safe without risk, do it: switch off the power at the switch, turn off a car engine, put on hazard lights. If you can't, stay back and call.
Reza sees a motorcyclist lying on a busy road. Running straight into the lane could put two people on the ground. He first checks the traffic, gets a driver to stop with hazard lights on, and only then goes over.
Check yourself
At a building site near Leila's home, a worker collapses right next to an electrical cable that is sparking on the ground. What should Leila do first?
- Pull him away from the cable by his clothes, quickly
- Stay back, get the power switched off if someone can do that safely, and call for help
- Touch his wrist to check whether he is alive
- Pour water on the cable to stop the sparks
Show the answer
Stay back, get the power switched off if someone can do that safely, and call for help
Right. Until the power is off, anyone who touches him or the cable can be electrocuted too. Staying back and calling is doing something: it is the step that gets him help without adding a second casualty.
KNOW YOUR NUMBER
Emergency numbers
In Iran, the medical emergency number is 115; fire is 125 and police 110. 112 works across the EU and on mobile networks in many other countries, but not everywhere. 911 is the number in the US and Canada, and 999 in the UK (112 works there too). The number that matters is the one where you are, so look it up and save it in your phone today, before you need it, and again whenever you travel.
Daniyal is flying from Tehran to visit his cousin in Toronto. Before he goes, he saves 911 in his phone next to 115, so in a panic he doesn't have to think.
Check yourself
Match each number to where or what it's for
Show the answer
- 115 → Medical emergency in Iran
- 125 → Fire service in Iran
- 110 → Police in Iran
- 911 → Emergency in the US and Canada
- 999 → Emergency in the UK
What to say when you call
- Where you are, first
The address, or a landmark: the metro station and which exit, the shop you're outside, the kilometre marker on a road. If the line drops after one sentence, this is the one they need.
- What happened
In a few words: "a man collapsed", "a car hit a cyclist", "a child is choking".
- How many people are hurt
One, two, more. It decides how many teams they send.
- Awake? Breathing?
Whether the person answers you and whether they seem to breathe normally. Say "I'm not sure" if you're not sure.
- Your phone number, then stay on the line
Don't hang up until the dispatcher says so. Put the phone on speaker so your hands are free: dispatchers are trained to talk you through what to do, including CPR.
Check yourself
Kian calls 115 for an older woman who has fallen at a bus stop. The line is bad. What should the very first thing he tells the dispatcher be?
- Her age and that she seems confused
- Exactly where they are
- His own name and phone number
- What he has already tried to do
Show the answer
Exactly where they are
Yes. Location first: if the call drops after one sentence, an ambulance can still find them. Everything else can follow, and the dispatcher will ask for it.
Sara finds a man collapsed at Tajrish metro station.
She dials 115, speaker on.
Dispatcher: Emergency 115.
Sara: Tajrish metro station, Tehran, lower level by the ticket gates.
A man collapsed about a minute ago.
Just one person.
He isn't answering me. I'm not sure he's breathing normally.
You can call me back on this number.
Dispatcher: Stay with him and stay on the line. I'll tell you what to do.Before the crew leaves, they know:
where Tajrish station, by the gates
what sudden collapse
how many one
state not answering, breathing unclear
Sara keeps the line open, hands free.Her first sentence alone would have been enough to send an ambulance. "I'm not sure" is a useful answer too: the dispatcher will help her check.
Getting a crowd to actually help
"Someone call an ambulance!"
Everyone hears it, and everyone assumes someone else is doing it. Often nobody calls, or three people call and nobody fetches anything.
"You, in the blue shirt: call 115 and come back to me."
Point at one person, give one job, ask them to come back and tell you it's done. Then the next: "You: find an AED. Try the ticket office first."
Bystander effect
The tendency for people in a group to be less likely to act in an emergency, because each person feels less responsible and waits for someone else. It isn't that people don't care. Nobody knows it's their job. Giving named, specific jobs breaks it.
Twenty people see a man fall on a crowded pavement and nobody calls, each assuming someone already has.
Check yourself
In a crowd, shouting "someone call an ambulance!" is the best way to make sure help is called.
Show the answer
False
False. A request to everyone is a request to no one: each person assumes another has called. Point at one person, give them one job ("You: call 115 and come back"), and give the next person the next job.
A few more rules for the first minute
- If the person is awake, tell them who you are and ask if you can help before you touch them.
- If you're alone with an adult who is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call first on speaker, then start CPR (lesson 04). Don't leave to look for help.
- Don't assume someone else has already called. If in doubt, call: two calls are better than none.
- Common mistakes: running into traffic or an electrical scene, hanging up early, giving the details before the location.
Check yourself
Parisa sees a cyclist hit by a car on a quiet street. In what order should she act, in general?
- Give first aid, call the emergency number, check the person, check for danger
- Check the person, give first aid, check for danger, call
- Check for danger, check the person, call the emergency number, give first aid
- Call, give first aid, check the person, check for danger
Show the answer
Check for danger, check the person, call the emergency number, give first aid
Right: danger, the person, the call, then first aid. And if it's clearly serious, or she can't safely get close, she calls straight away, before anything else.
Lesson recap
- First aid keeps someone going until professional help arrives, and it starts with you staying safe.
- Stop for three seconds and look for danger: traffic, fire, electricity, gas, water, collapse, violence, glass or needles. Can't make it safe? Stay back and call.
- Iran: 115 medical, 125 fire, 110 police. Elsewhere 112, 911 or 999, depending on where you are. Save your local number today.
- On the call: where first, then what happened, how many, awake and breathing, your number. Speaker on, and don't hang up.
- In a crowd, point at one person and give one job. Doing something, even just calling, beats doing nothing.