St. John Ambulance Wants You to Learn How to Manage an Emergency

April 29, 2011 (Toronto, ON) – May 1 - 7, 2011 is Emergency Preparedness Week and St. John Ambulance wants to encourage everyone to prepare for the worst by getting trained in first aid. Learning first aid will help empower you in an emergency by providing you with the knowledge and skills to assess a situation and prioritize your actions based on what is most urgent.

Emergency scene management, a fundamental component of any first aid class, teaches students to be aware of their environment to ensure the safety of the casualty and the rescuers. This is a particularly important skill during a disaster when power lines may be down, broken glass and rubble may be a factor, or a chemical hazard may exist. Being able to come upon a scene and asses what dangers exist for the rescuer and the casualty, and determine the mechanism of injury will help the rescuers make safer decisions.

A Standard First Aid Course also provides students with the knowledge they would need to deal with injuries associated with many disaster.

“In the wake of the many devastating disasters that have affected us, first aid should be a critical part of every person’s emergency preparedness plan,” said Rob White, Chairman of St. John Council for Ontario. “People should be prepared to care for themselves in a disaster while emergency services are busy helping critical areas. First aid will help you cope until help arrives.”

Emergency Management Ontario recommends every household create and Emergency Preparedness kit that would supply them for three days. This should include; food, water, warm clothing, medication, etc. For more information on preparing a kit, or hazards in your area, visit www.emergencymanagementontario.ca.  

For more information about first aid or to sign up for a class, visit www.sja.ca/on  or contact your local St. John Ambulance Branch Office.

For over 125 years St. John Ambulance has been teaching first aid in Ontario. Today we train over 155,000 Ontarians annually in first aid and other health care related courses and remains dedicated to saving lives at work, home and play. With over 4,000 volunteers contributing over half a million hours of community service a year, St. John Ambulance is an integral part of the community offering such unique and innovative programs as; medical first response, disaster response, car seat clinics, health and safety related youth programs and therapy dog services. As a charitable, humanitarian organization, proceeds from St. John Ambulance’s first aid training and first aid product sales directly support these vital community services programs. For more information on St. John Ambulance training courses and volunteer opportunities or to contact your local branch, visit www.sja.ca/on