Disaster First-Aid Kit & training

[Krusty783]

Maybe I watched too many of the Prepper TV shows,[or maybe I'm finally maturing a little and worrying about the well-being of my family should something happen] but I have recently gotten interested in disaster preparedness and first-aid specifically.

I could give lots of background about my reasoning that you may or may not wish to read, but I'll cut to the chase:

I live in St. Louis, which is smack dab on the New Madrid fault. You may have heard of the 1812 earthquake which made the Mississippi flow backwards! There was also a ~4.5 magnitude earthquake here about 5 years ago.

-Should a major earthquake hit St. Louis, all of the major interstates & roads may be shutdown because they all cross either the Meramac, Missouri, or Mississippi River(s). There is 1 two-lane road heading southwest out of the city which may be the only passable route.

-I expect a shelter in place while waiting for external aid scenario after an earthquake. Our house is on a cul-de-sac and nondescript. There are nicer homes in the neighborhood, but we are also less than 1000 ft from an elementary school which may become an (un)official community shelter if it's still standing.

-I am competent with firearms and plan on getting at least basic defensive/tactical training to employ them properly should the need arise.

-I will be purchasing 1 month of emergency food for my family in the next few weeks.


-My question is this: I go to the range, so I see the need for a "tactical"/"combat" trauma training course and supplies. But, where is a good place to start looking for a thorough first-aid kit for my home and training courses for blunt force trauma and other non-gunshot injuries?

I am active and have 1 small child and we're talking about having another one, so I can see the FAK being useful for kiddie injuries and household mishaps. (I have a habit of injuring myself, usually small scrape/cut on a finger, with every fix-it job I do...)

[RWK]

I recommend starting with a basic first aid/CPR/AED course through the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, etc. As for a first aid kit, I'm a fan of Adventure Medical Kits.

[ra2bach]

maybe not the whole answer you were looking for but it makes it easier to for me to categorize everything in levels or "lines". first line gear is the stuff you need to take to the fight. second line enhances the first and so on...

my first line gear has the basic lifesaving BOK or "blowout" kit - response to traumatic injury like gunshot, car crash, etc..
a tourniquet, pressure bandage, gauze, gloves, chest seal, tape, and an NPA are in this kit. I don't carry a cath needle because I don't know how to use one.

the second line is what most think of as an IFAK (Individual First Aid Kit) and duplicates some of my first line and expands it to include abdominal pad, betadine, ace wrap, burn care, eye wash, Tylenol/Ibuprofen, and snivel gear like bandaids, insect bite and alcohol wipes, sunscreen, Imodium, tube of Vaseline, small spare light, etc... this is what I keep on my chest rig and in my each of my cars. if I'm in a PC, I try to keep this as light and unencumbered as possible so I mount the IFAK external on my pack.

third line is for an extended time frame away from professional care and is more of what you may think as a family or unit med kit and has things like splints, eye cup, triangle bandage, Neosporin, plenty of gauze, tape, butterflys and bandaids and any individuals' personal meds. also tweezers, forceps, sutures, syringes, lidocaine, etc.

obviously you have to tailor things to your needs. for training or range use, where help is reasonably close by, I shade toward the first and second line only. if I'm remote hiking or camping, I have more of the second and third line in a more compressed format. for the situation you described you need to have all the bases covered but if things go mobile, having first and second line kits is a good idea.

good luck..

[Boy Scout]

I am a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Instructor for DHS in Indianapolis. (http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams) Although very basic, the course outlays a lot of information and makes an excellent foundation for one just learning the ropes of disaster preparedness.

If this link copies the search parameters correctly, it should be a list of active CERTs in your area:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cc/listCert.do

[fyrediver]

I suggest taking a basic first aid and CPR course as the starting point as well. From there you can take Wilderness First Aid for more advanced training. You can often find these courses through your city's park and rec dept, the fire dept, or local community colleges.

I don't suggest people take EMT courses as they are based on having an EMS system within which they (we) work. Wilderness based courses are more applicable when there aren't higher level resources to elevate the patient to for definitive care. Additionally, those courses focus more on improvisation and less on jurisdictional protocols.

Check out Skinny Medic, Dr Bones and Nurse Amy, and any of the other plethora of Youtube channels out there. Skinny Medic also sells a pretty good basic IFAK that you can tune up to your specific standards. I've added Israeli Battle Dressings to each kit. For a carry kit they're pretty good.

For my home kit I have a plastic tub with roller gauze, trauma dressings (2x2, 4x4, 8x10, and 10x30 -- more of the smaller), tape, triangular bandages, ace wraps, band aids, splints, etc. I buy these supplies right from the local pharmacy or from http://www.mfasco.com/ on line. I also have a portable trauma kit as well as IFAKs in every vehicle.

[3 AE]

Here's a few links that could prove helpful depending on your scenarios.

http://www.equipped.com/medical.htm

http://www.equipped.com/toc.htm

http://www.equipped.com/disastertoc.htm

http://www.equipped.com/survlkit.htm#COMPMEDKIT

[fyrediver]

http://www.equipped.com/medical.htm



Doug Ritter's Equipped to Survive is one of the best sites around for actual "survival" information! Good reminder.