Hello,

My question is for you EMT/rescue personel out there.

I'm a SAR volunteer trained in first-aid. I'd like to build a trauma bag that I will carry to events. Nothing too fancy, I don't need to carry oxygen and an AED, but I still want a decent sized bag to carry first-aid supplies, a few water bottles, a small lunch, and maybe a light fleece jacket. Compartments seem to be a important feature.

Does this bag look decent?



http://cgi.ebay.ca/EMT-EMS-FIRE-RESCUE-P...1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't like to "flash" too much since I am not an EMT but only a first-aid provider, however I still wish to have a sizeable bag that is visible.

Any comments? Is this overkill for me? Should look for a regular duffle bag?

Is this to be used just to carry in your car or are you going to use it during SAR missions?

Just to carry in my car to soccer tournaments, and similar events where I provide first-aid. I carry a more compact FAK in my backpack during SAR missions.

The bag will probably live in my car trunk 24/7 unless I need the trunk space.

Ok, I think that this would work for you. I carry one similar to my medical calls(from my car to usually the patients house)Now when I am responding to a patient in remote areas I use a medical back pack.Just for ease of carry.

I do use a MAXPEDITION back pack for everyday carry for my lunch, extra cloths, water bottle, FAK, even my laptop or mp3 player depending how long a day is going to be. In other words I live out of my backpack on a daily basis (Is this a Man Purse? )

Since you aren't EMS, I would look to see if there was a way to remove or cover the EMS symbol. At night, all that gets seen is the retroflective material, and being misidentified as something you aren't could be a bad thing.

I agree, though the bag still is a trauma bag equipped with adequate first-aid supplies.

Thanks for your suggestion! I'll see if I can find an unbadged one but they might be harder to find.

Another thought about markings. When I first became an EMT, and had my nice brand new state issued bag, marked CHP on one side, and EMT on the other, I was out at a crash on a rural state highway one night. Several lookieloos had stopped, and before the night was over we caught a guy trying to sneak away with the bag. He later 'fessed up that he thought that there would be drugs in it...

Haha, that's funny. ;-) I wouldn't worry too too much about this in a soccer tournament. Oh, and I usually take good care of my stuff, I would never leave my bag unattended. The emergencies I take care of are not as important as yours.

Thinking of the star of life marking on bags again... my SAR team actually supplies large Ferno trauma bag on important events, I don't see why I couldn't have such a bag myself. It's just a first-aid bag, it doesn't really scream "I'M AN EMT!" don't it.

I looked at Plano tackle boxes in the meantime, some are nice but I presume not ideal for my needs.

I have seen paramagics using plastic tackle boxes, so don't count them out. Nice thing about them is you can label each little compartment, so you know what goes where.

Emergencies are emergencies, the bad thing about being a highway cop/EMT is that, in addition to providing aid to the injured, you have to lay flares, direct traffic, store vehicles, question witnesses and involved parties, measure skidmarks, draw diagrams, try not to get run over, etc etc etc. I never expected my EMT bag to try to walk away before that night...

Hello everybody!
Below is a bag I've been looking at to use as a medical supply bag. I know, I know, it's a dog bag but it looks like it would work very well for my application. The included doggy items are just a bonus for our pup. Flambeau makes plastic and soft tackle boxes and their stuff is usually pretty good quality. It's a little smaller than the bag Bee found. It's Total size (L/W/D): Approx. 13x13-¾x9-½”

smitty
Flambeau Dog Training Accessory Bag

Don't discount this too quickly. My brother is a volunteer firefighter, and he's had gear stolen out of his rig at fire scenes.

I once heared a story from my CPR-instructor who has had about 3 resusitations so far. She removed her arm-bracelets and laid them on the ground next to her. 2 times the bracelets were stolen! 3 time she put them in her purse and clamped the purse between her legs.

You've got to wonder what's wrong with people sometimes...

Galls.com

I personally don't buy my bags from them, but the have a wide selection. You can also try Dyna-med. The nice thing about Galls is they have black versions of some bags, w/o the SOL. Also, duffels, backpacks, fanny packs, you can order supplies, etc. If nothing else, it can give you some direction. Also, at least in the US, I believe it's some sort of crime to have the Star of Life if you're not certified EMT or emergency service provider. One of the places I worked was joined with the campus police, and one day they brought in a nice cache out of some guy's trunk after they had pulled him over. It mysteriously got confiscated onto our ambulance.

I've only worked urban rigs, so couldn't tell you about a good FAK back pack.

For my family storm kit I have a very large kit I got from Galls. For the kit in my truck I use a fishing bag that I got at Wal-mart for $25. If you buy from Galls and the like you are going to pay way too much.
I like the Flambeau bag in a prev. post. A similar bag from Galls will cost you four times as much and the only difference is a reflective emblem.

You might try some of the fire packs (they come in red) this site will give you an idea as to what is avilible.

www.firecache.com

Check out Conterra for medical and Trauma bags

20

My question is why the hell(!!!) is she taking her bracelets off??? The patient only has a few minute window, and her jewelry need are killing folks, or at the very least, not helping them. And why a purse on scene????

--From a guy with over a dozen!

Guy keels over in a crowd, say at work or in the grocery store or just walking down the street? Unless you are a wacker you won't have much with you. That's probably why she had the purse.

As for why to shuck your watch/bracelets: if you see them go down, you do that AS you are assessing, it only takes about 10 seconds. And guess what- unless you are doc, an ME, or in certain jurisdictions a PA or paramedic, you can't stop once you start. Otherwise, it's malfeasance of duty under the law. It is better to never, every start from a legal point of view than it is stop before you've handed them off. In the state of Vermont, I'm not sure if it criminal, but I know you've just waived your rights and privileges against civil action if you start then stop before being relived. So in a rural area that means you might be pumping and blowing for the next 20 minutes, half an hour, however long it takes to get a rig there. If you've been doing compressions with something like a watch around your wrist, odds are you've started to cut off the circulation to that hand.

For the basic stuff you are mentioning this bag may work but it also depends on the amount of supplies you want to carry. One of my ambulances has a similar bag stocked and it fits fair amount of gear with no room to spare for anything. But there are ways to save space on med supplies by using sam splints except board splints and smaller 250cc irrigation bottles instead of big 1L ones.

Look at some of the stat packs equipment. I managed to get one of the small backpacks and squized enough stuff in there to work up almost anything.

Cheaper bags like the one seen in your post when exposued to cold temperature and other elements (read trunk junk) tend to age very badly. Reflective stripes peel and crack, zippers jam and break, straps get stiff and buckles break. If you want something really cool that I saw couple of coaches use try range bag (5.11 or Maxpedition). Rectangular free standing bags with compartments for everything.

Matt

Actually, in the states that I am familiar with, once you start you don't stop until relieved, OR until you are exhausted and can not continue. You can not just start, then after a few minutes decided that the victim is a gonner and stop for that reason alone. Having done CPR on more people than I care to remember, and for as long as 30-50 minutes, I can tell you that it is a very tiring process.

As far as watches go, I never removed mine, and never noticed a big problem with it, but that was just me. I am numb most of the time anyway...

Here is link to the history and use of the STAR OF LIFE:

STAR OF LIFE

Pete

My first-aid instructor:

'You can only stop doing CPR, if you are exhausted,the paramedics say you can stop, or when you are in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no chance that someone can hear and help you.'

She also said: ''The only situation you don't have to begin CPR is when the head is 2 meters away from the body.
And if it's only 1.5 meters, you kick it half a meter...''

I'm a AHA CPR instructor and I make it pretty clear to my students when you can stop CPR when:

a)you are to tired to go on
b)higher medical authority tells you to stop
c)higher medical authority takes over

Now if you guys want to talk about stolen stuff... I was on a call one time where food delivery guy got hit by the car. We were working him up and his take out delivery food (chinese) was next to him in the paper bag. There was wall of people around us and out of the sudden I see this hand appear and steal the food. Wicked.

Our ambulances sometimes are called to the projects (low income housing) where somebody is stalling us in the apt and after long physical exam and interview they refuse to go and meantime ambulance gets robbed downstairs.

I ordered the large red bag that you can see on this picture :



Description is as follows (http://www.code-2.com/Square-Duffle-Large-p/911-82211.htm) :

Large Duffle: Our largest case. Easily-accessible main compartment, ten inside pockets, four outside pockets and numerous elastic hold-downs. Removable padded insert to hold "D" sized oxygen tank.

Specs:
Material: 1000D nylon in Red, Royal or Green
Overall Dimensions:
28"Lx11"Hx15"D (large)


I couldn't find any decent soft fishing tackle box to use as a trauma bag, so I finally ordered that bag because it seemed decent and at an okay price, and shipping to Canada was cheap. I'll keep you guys posted !

Having worked several long codes, I've never taken my watch off either. Honestly, you need the watch (down time, time for meds, etc). It's just one more thing to lose as well.

OK, yeah, I can see walking down the street and having a purse if someone keels over. Most medics I know give the old "EMT Salute" and keep walking in those situations. In CA, I've always been taught that Good Sam laws don't apply to trained personnel. So, rather than risk any legal action, they just do like the normal bystander and don't identify themselves. Questionable ethically, but probably smart legally.

We once had an officer hit by a car while on a traffic stop. By the time assistance arrived, his badge and gun were gone. Scumbags will steal anything...

I can say that an AED is possibly the single most important bit of life-saving equipment to come down the pike in the last few years. Unlike CPR, AED's have an actually meaningful "recovery rate" and they have gotten small enough to really be practical for a kit the size you're proposing.

Unless you're carrying in an emergency vehicle, I don't think there's a need to have a labeled bag like that.

Hi Martin!

Depending on the event i'm being assigned to, I might carry a team-supplied Heartstart AED and o2 tank in this bag. I might not have given enough context when I described my story at the beginning of my post. I am part of a volunteer group that offers first-aid services to the community. This group is structured, members wear uniforms (etc.) and our training goes beyond basic first-aid (AED, o2, airways, etc.).

I understand that for a «normal» person that gives first-aid care twice a year, a trauma bag with it's corresponding looks might be pushing it a little. However, at the end of the day, in my context, I think it's alright. Like NightHiker said, if the bag is a trauma bag, it should be identified as such so it's not mistaken for something it isn't.

Thanks and have a great day!

Hi Bee, Just a thought, having worked various events, your agency should be providing the bags and equipment. If for no other reason then liability, if your using anything more sophisticated then band aids, if something malfunctions that can be linked to a negative outcome, and it turns out to be your privately owned something, that puts everyone involved in civil jeopardy.
On the other hand, while I also carry a good sized kit in my car, I have no intentions of carrying it very far if I don't have to. You can do allot with a very small kit filled with well chosen components. My EDC is about the size of a grapefruit and at least remedially can manage anything from blisters to GSW/knife wounds. I think if I were you, I'd take my SAR kit and upgrade it as my knowledge and skills improved. But be selective when and where you use the personal kit. Anything mechanical can break. This is one of the reasons that we do rig checks prior to starting a shift. We need to assure that everything is there and functional. This happens twice a day in most systems. How many private folks do you know that check their stuff even once a month?

Regards Jim

Good evening Jim,

We are provided with all the necessary bags and equipment. However, I like to use my own equipment because I know exactly where my stuff is and what I have on hand. I also like the opportunity to bring additional items in my trauma bag such as water bottles, snacks, and similar items that don't belong in a issued bag that might come in handy during events.

:-) Take care!