First Aid and Emergency Response

Introduction

First aid is the immediate help given to a person who is injured or suddenly ill before professional medical care takes over. Emergency response is the wider process of noticing danger, getting help quickly, giving safe care, and handing the person over to trained responders. In an emergency, simple actions can protect life, prevent a situation from becoming worse, and help the person feel supported.

This aiMOOC is designed for Grades 7–8. You will learn how to recognize common emergencies, decide what to do first, communicate clearly, and practise safe response skills. You do not need to be a health professional to be helpful, but you do need to know your limits.

Important safety note: This course supports learning; it does not replace a certified first-aid or CPR course. Emergency numbers, school rules, and first-aid procedures can vary by country. In a real emergency, call your local emergency number, follow the dispatcher’s instructions, and get a responsible adult or trained responder as quickly as possible. Practise CPR, choking care, tourniquet skills, and medication devices only with suitable training equipment and qualified supervision, never on classmates.

The green first-aid sign can help you locate first-aid equipment or a first-aid point. Learning to notice safety signs is part of being prepared.

Learning Goals

By the end of this aiMOOC, you should be able to:

First aid: Explain the purpose and limits of first aid.
Emergency communication: Give clear information when calling for help.
Primary survey: Check danger, response, airway, and breathing in a sensible order.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Explain when Hands-Only CPR may be used for a suddenly collapsed teen or adult.
Automated external defibrillator: Describe how an AED supports CPR and why its prompts must be followed.
Common emergencies: Choose safe first actions for choking, severe bleeding, burns, seizures, asthma, anaphylaxis, and suspected fractures.

Be Prepared Before an Emergency

Preparation reduces confusion. Learn the emergency number used where you live and where you travel. At school, know how to contact the office, a teacher, a school nurse, or another responsible adult. Notice where first-aid kits and AEDs are stored. If your school has an emergency plan, learn the parts that apply to students.

A useful first-aid kit may contain disposable gloves, sterile gauze, adhesive dressings, roller bandages, tape, a triangular bandage, a cold pack, and scissors. Some kits contain additional equipment for trained users. Check supplies regularly with an adult and replace damaged or expired items.

Prepared does not mean reckless. You should never enter traffic, fire, deep water, a chemical spill, unstable structures, violence, or another dangerous scene just because someone needs help. Your safety comes first because an injured rescuer cannot help effectively.

Personal Protection and Permission

Before giving care, look for hazards. Use gloves or another appropriate barrier when available, especially if blood or body fluids are present. Wash your hands after giving care.

If a responsive person can answer you, introduce yourself, explain that you want to help, and ask permission before touching them. Respect their dignity and privacy. If the person cannot respond, call emergency services and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.

The First Response: Check, Call, Care

A simple way to remember the overall response is Check – Call – Care.

Check the scene first. Ask: Is it safe for me to approach? What happened? How many people need help? Then check the person. Speak loudly and clearly: “Are you okay?” Look for normal breathing and obvious life-threatening problems.

Call for help early. Send a specific person to get an adult, call the local emergency number, and bring an AED if one is available. If you are alone and have a phone, put it on speaker when possible so you can listen to the dispatcher while helping.

Care for the most serious problem you can safely manage. Keep checking the person until professional help arrives.

This St John Ambulance training video demonstrates a primary survey. Use videos to support learning, then practise only in supervised simulations.

What to Say on an Emergency Call

Stay as calm and specific as you can. The dispatcher may ask for:

Location: The exact address, room, landmark, entrance, or position.
Emergency: What happened and what dangers are still present.
People: How many people are injured or ill.
Condition: Whether the person is responsive and breathing normally, and whether there is severe bleeding.
Care given: What first aid has already been started.

Do not hang up until the dispatcher tells you to. If the situation changes, tell them immediately.

Primary Survey

The purpose of the primary survey is to find problems that can quickly threaten life. Use a simple order: danger, response, airway, breathing.

Danger

Look before you move closer. Traffic, electricity, fire, smoke, water, chemicals, broken glass, aggressive animals, and violence can make a scene unsafe. If there is danger you cannot control, keep back and call professional responders.

Response

From a safe position, speak to the person. Ask a simple question and give a simple instruction such as “Open your eyes.” Do not shake a person who may have a head, neck, or back injury.

A person who does not respond needs urgent attention. Call for help and continue the survey.

Airway and Breathing

An unresponsive person may have a blocked airway. Open the airway using the method taught in a certified first-aid course and look for normal breathing. Occasional gasps are not normal breathing.

If a person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, call emergency services, get an AED, and begin CPR according to your training and the dispatcher’s instructions. If the person is unresponsive but is breathing normally, the recovery position can help keep the airway open, unless moving the person would create a greater danger. Keep checking breathing.

Recovery Position

Use the recovery position for a person who is unresponsive but breathing normally when it is appropriate and safe to move them. The person lies on their side with the head positioned so the airway can remain open. Continue monitoring breathing and stay with the person.

If you suspect a serious head, neck, or back injury, avoid unnecessary movement. However, airway and breathing remain the priority. Follow the emergency dispatcher’s instructions.

Never place a person who is not breathing normally in the recovery position instead of starting CPR.

CPR: Acting During Cardiac Arrest

CPR helps move blood when the heart has stopped pumping effectively. Sudden cardiac arrest can cause a person to collapse, become unresponsive, and stop breathing normally.

For a teen or adult who suddenly collapses and is unresponsive and not breathing normally, a bystander who is not trained in rescue breaths can use Hands-Only CPR:

Emergency call: Call the local emergency number or have someone else call, and send for an AED.
Chest compressions: Push hard and fast in the center of the chest at about 100–120 compressions per minute.
Continuation: Keep going until an AED is ready, trained help takes over, the scene becomes unsafe, or the person shows clear signs of life.

Let the chest return to its normal position after each compression and avoid unnecessary pauses. Never practise chest compressions on a responsive person; use a CPR manikin.

For infants, younger children, drowning, overdose, and some breathing-related emergencies, rescue breaths can be especially important. These situations require additional training. Follow the emergency dispatcher and your certified course.

The American Heart Association’s Hands-Only CPR materials emphasize rapid emergency activation and continuous chest compressions for a witnessed sudden collapse in a teen or adult.

AED: A Device That Can Guide a Rescuer

An automated external defibrillator, or AED, is a portable device that can analyze the heart’s rhythm and, when needed, advise or deliver a shock. AEDs are often found in schools, sports centers, airports, shopping areas, workplaces, and other public places.

When an AED arrives:

Power: Turn it on and listen to its voice or visual prompts.
Pads: Expose and dry the chest as needed and attach the pads exactly as shown on the device.
Clear: Make sure nobody is touching the person while the AED analyzes the rhythm and, if instructed, while a shock is delivered.
Resume CPR: Continue CPR immediately when the device tells you to.

An AED is designed to give instructions. Do not delay calling emergency services or CPR while waiting for one.

Choking

Choking happens when an object blocks the airway. The person may suddenly be unable to breathe or speak.

If the person can cough strongly, speak, or breathe, encourage coughing and watch closely. Do not hit the back of someone who is coughing effectively unless your local first-aid protocol tells you to do so.

If an adult or child has severe choking and cannot cough, speak, or breathe effectively, call emergency services. Current first-aid training commonly teaches cycles of five back blows followed by five abdominal thrusts for an adult or child, continuing until the object is expelled or the person becomes unresponsive. Technique differs for infants and in some other situations, so follow local training and the emergency dispatcher.

If the person becomes unresponsive, lower them safely, call for an AED, and begin CPR according to training and dispatcher instructions.

Training rule: Do not practise real abdominal thrusts on classmates. Use a suitable choking trainer or manikin under qualified supervision.

Severe Bleeding and Wounds

Life-threatening bleeding can be fast, continuous, or spurting, may soak through clothing or dressings, or may form a growing pool of blood. Treat it as an emergency.

Your priorities are:

Scene safety: Protect yourself and use gloves or a barrier if available.
Emergency services: Call early for life-threatening bleeding.
Direct pressure: Place clean gauze or cloth over the wound and press firmly and continuously.
Monitoring: Keep the person still, watch their breathing and responsiveness, and reassure them until help arrives.

If blood soaks through, keep firm pressure and add more material rather than repeatedly removing the first dressing. Do not pull out a deeply embedded object; apply pressure around it and get emergency help.

A commercial tourniquet can save a life in severe bleeding from an arm or leg, but correct use requires training. If one is needed, use a proper device according to your certified training, its instructions, and emergency-dispatcher guidance.

For a minor cut or graze, wash your hands, rinse the wound with clean water when appropriate, control small amounts of bleeding, and cover it with a clean dressing. Get adult or medical help for deep, dirty, gaping, bitten, or badly contaminated wounds.

Burns and Scalds

A burn can be caused by heat, hot liquid, chemicals, electricity, radiation, or friction. First make sure the source of danger is controlled and the scene is safe.

For a heat burn or scald:

Cooling: Cool the burn under cool or lukewarm running water for at least 20 minutes where practical.
Remove nearby items: Remove jewellery or loose clothing near the burn if it is not stuck to the skin.
Cover: After cooling, cover the burn loosely with a clean, non-fluffy dressing or other recommended burn covering.
Get help: Seek urgent medical help for large, deep, electrical, chemical, airway, face, hand, foot, joint, or genital burns, or whenever you are unsure.

Do not use ice, butter, toothpaste, oils, or greasy creams on a fresh burn. Do not remove material stuck to the skin and do not break blisters.

Chemical and electrical burns may involve hazards you cannot see. Keep yourself safe and follow emergency-services instructions.

Seizures

A seizure can cause changes in movement, awareness, behavior, or sensation. During a convulsive seizure, a person may become stiff and have repeated jerking movements.

If someone has a seizure:

Protect: Move dangerous objects away and cushion the head if possible.
Time: Note when the seizure starts.
Do not restrain: Do not hold the person down.
Nothing in the mouth: Never put fingers, food, drink, or objects in the person’s mouth.
After the movements stop: If the person is breathing normally and it is safe to move them, place them on their side and stay with them while they recover.

Call emergency services if the seizure lasts five minutes or more, another seizure follows before recovery, it is the person’s first known seizure, the person is injured or has trouble breathing, the seizure occurs in water, or you are seriously concerned.

Asthma and Anaphylaxis

Asthma can make breathing difficult, often with wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, or shortness of breath. Help the person sit upright and stay calm. If they have a prescribed reliever inhaler, help them use it according to their personal action plan, the medicine instructions, and local school policy. Call emergency services if breathing is severe, the person is getting worse, or the reliever is not helping.

Anaphylaxis is a severe allergic reaction that can involve breathing difficulty, throat or tongue swelling, widespread hives, dizziness, collapse, or other rapidly worsening symptoms. It is an emergency. Call emergency services immediately. If the person has prescribed epinephrine medicine, such as an auto-injector, help them use it as directed by the device, their action plan, your training, and local rules. Continue watching breathing and responsiveness.

Do not give someone another person’s medication.

Suspected Fractures, Sprains, and Serious Injury

Pain, swelling, bruising, unusual shape, loss of movement, or inability to use a limb can suggest a fracture or other serious injury. Keep the injured area as still as possible and support it in the position found. Do not try to straighten a deformed limb or push a bone back into place.

A wrapped cold pack can help reduce pain and swelling in some closed soft-tissue injuries. Never place ice directly on the skin.

Call emergency services or get urgent adult help for an open fracture, severe deformity, uncontrolled bleeding, loss of feeling or circulation, serious head, neck, or back injury, or any injury after a high-risk event. Avoid unnecessary movement when a head, neck, or back injury is suspected unless there is immediate danger or emergency responders direct you.

Poisoning and Unsafe Substances

Possible poisoning can involve medicines, household chemicals, fumes, plants, alcohol, drugs, or other substances. Protect yourself from the same hazard. Call the local poison information service or emergency service as appropriate and follow professional instructions.

Do not make a person vomit and do not give food or drink unless a qualified professional tells you to. If safe, keep the container, label, or other information about the substance so responders can identify it. For dangerous fumes, do not enter an unsafe area without proper protection.

Shock and Ongoing Care

After severe injury or illness, a person may become pale, cool, sweaty, weak, confused, restless, or very thirsty. These can be warning signs that the body is not circulating enough blood. Call emergency services for a seriously ill or injured person.

Keep the person still and comfortable, protect them from getting too cold or too hot, and continue checking breathing and responsiveness. Do not give food or drink to a seriously injured or unresponsive person. Reassure them and explain what is happening.

Teamwork During an Emergency

Good emergency response is a team skill. One person can call emergency services, another can guide responders to the exact location, another can bring the first-aid kit or AED, and a trained person can begin care. Clear roles reduce duplicated work.

Use short, specific instructions: “You in the blue shirt, call the emergency number and come back to tell me it is done.” Avoid crowding the person. Keep bystanders back and protect privacy.

After the emergency, tell a trusted adult how you are feeling. Seeing an injury or giving first aid can be stressful. Schools and families can help you process the experience.

First-Aid Myths to Avoid

Some popular ideas can cause harm. Remember:

Burns: Do not put ice, butter, toothpaste, or greasy cream on a fresh burn.
Seizures: Do not put anything in a person’s mouth.
Unconsciousness: Do not give food or drink to an unresponsive person.
Embedded objects: Do not pull out a deeply embedded object.
Fractures: Do not force a deformed limb straight.
Emergency scenes: Do not rush into danger without checking scene safety.

Reliable Reference Points

For further study, use guidance from recognized first-aid and health organizations. Procedures are updated over time, so check current local guidance:

Interactive Tasks

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

What should you check before approaching an injured person? (Scene safety) (!The person’s school grade) (!Whether you know the person) (!Whether someone is filming)

What is the best action when a person is unresponsive and not breathing normally? (Call emergency services and begin CPR) (!Put the person in a chair) (!Give the person water) (!Wait ten minutes)

What is the recommended compression rate for Hands-Only CPR on a suddenly collapsed teen or adult? (About 100 to 120 per minute) (!About 20 to 30 per minute) (!About 40 to 50 per minute) (!About 200 to 220 per minute)

What should you do when an AED is analyzing the heart rhythm? (Make sure nobody is touching the person) (!Remove the AED pads) (!Give the person a drink) (!Turn the AED off)

What should you encourage if a choking person can still cough strongly and speak? (Keep coughing) (!Lie flat immediately) (!Drink a large glass of water) (!Put fingers into the mouth)

What is the first main action for life-threatening external bleeding? (Apply firm direct pressure) (!Wash the wound for ten minutes) (!Remove any embedded object) (!Ask the person to walk around)

How should you cool a fresh heat burn or scald? (Use cool or lukewarm running water) (!Use ice directly on the skin) (!Cover it with butter) (!Rub it with toothpaste)

What should you never put in the mouth of a person having a seizure? (Any object) (!A question after recovery) (!A calm explanation) (!A request for consent later)

What should you do if a severe allergic reaction is causing breathing difficulty? (Call emergency services) (!Ask the person to exercise) (!Give the person someone else’s medicine) (!Wait until the next day)

Why is clear emergency communication important? (It helps responders send the right help to the right place) (!It guarantees that no injury is serious) (!It replaces first aid completely) (!It means scene safety can be ignored)

Memory Game

Scene safety	Checking for hazards before approaching
Recovery position	Side position for an unresponsive person who is breathing normally
CPR	Chest compressions used during cardiac arrest
AED	Device that analyzes heart rhythm and may advise a shock
Direct pressure	Main first action for severe external bleeding
Anaphylaxis	Severe allergic reaction requiring urgent treatment

Drag and Drop

Match the correct terms.	Topic
Check the scene	Look for hazards before approaching
Call for help	Give the emergency dispatcher the exact location
Use direct pressure	Control severe external bleeding
Cool with running water	Give first aid for a heat burn
Follow AED prompts	Support CPR during cardiac arrest

...

Crossword Puzzle

Airway	What must be kept open so air can reach the lungs?
Pressure	What should be applied firmly to severe external bleeding?
Recovery	What side position is used for an unresponsive person who is breathing normally?
Defibrillator	What device can analyze heart rhythm and may advise a shock?
Seizure	What event can involve stiffness and repeated jerking movements?
Choking	What emergency occurs when an object blocks the airway?

LearningApps

Cloze Text

Before you approach an emergency, first check

. If a person does not respond, call for

. A person who is unresponsive and not breathing normally may need

. Hands-Only CPR for a suddenly collapsed teen or adult uses fast chest

. An AED should be used by following its spoken or visual

. Severe external bleeding is controlled first with firm direct

. A fresh heat burn should be cooled with running

. During a seizure, never place an object in the person’s

. Clear communication helps emergency responders find the correct

.

Open-Ended Tasks

Easy

Emergency Number Card: Create a small card showing your local emergency number, your school’s emergency contact route, and two useful location details for your classroom or sports area.
First Aid Symbol Hunt: Find and photograph or sketch three safety signs or first-aid locations in your school, then explain what each one tells you.
First Aid Kit Check: With an adult, inspect a first-aid kit and make a labelled drawing of at least eight items and their general purpose.
Clear Emergency Call: Write and perform a short role-play in which you report an emergency using exact location, what happened, number of people, and current condition.

Standard

Primary Survey Role-Play: In a supervised simulation with no real injury, act out danger, response, airway, and breathing checks and explain each decision aloud.
CPR Awareness Poster: Create a poster for students explaining when Hands-Only CPR may be used for a suddenly collapsed teen or adult and why an AED should be brought quickly.
First Aid Myth Video: Produce a one-minute video that corrects three unsafe first-aid myths and replaces them with safer actions.
Interview a First Aider: Interview a school nurse, first-aid instructor, paramedic, firefighter, coach, or other trained responder about preparation, communication, and common mistakes.

Advanced

Emergency Scenario Design: Create a branching scenario in which a learner must make decisions about scene safety, calling for help, and care for one common emergency.
School AED Map: With school permission, map the route from three school locations to the nearest AED or first-aid point and evaluate possible delays or access problems.
First Aid Evidence Review: Compare current guidance from two recognized first-aid organizations on one topic such as burns, choking, or seizures and explain similarities, differences, and possible reasons.
Community Preparedness Project: Design a realistic campaign that could improve first-aid readiness in your school or community, including audience, key messages, media, safety limits, and a way to measure impact.

Learning Assessment

Scenario Reasoning: You see a cyclist fall near moving traffic; explain the order in which you would deal with scene safety, emergency communication, and the injured person, and justify every step.
Breathing Decision: Compare the response to an unresponsive person who is breathing normally with the response to one who is not breathing normally, and explain why the two situations require different care.
CPR and AED Transfer: Explain how CPR and an AED work together during cardiac arrest and identify two mistakes that could interrupt effective care.
Emergency Communication Analysis: Improve a weak emergency call by adding missing information about location, hazards, number of people, condition, and care already given.
First Aid Myth Evaluation: Choose three common first-aid myths, explain why each may be unsafe, and replace each with an evidence-based action.
Preparedness Reflection: Evaluate your classroom, home, or sports setting for first-aid readiness and propose three realistic improvements that students and adults could make together.

Evidence of Learning

Strong evidence of learning includes both knowledge and safe decision-making. You should be able to explain the priorities of scene safety, emergency activation, and life-saving care; distinguish normal breathing from a situation that may require CPR; describe the purpose of an AED; and choose appropriate first actions for choking, severe bleeding, burns, seizures, asthma, anaphylaxis, and suspected fractures.

Your skills can be shown through supervised role-play, accurate emergency-call practice, first-aid kit analysis, safe manikin practice, and clear explanations of why one action should happen before another. You should also show that you know when not to act, when to wait for professional responders, and when a situation is too dangerous for a student rescuer.

Useful learning products include posters, maps, scenario scripts, interviews, short videos, first-aid kit diagrams, comparison reports, and community preparedness proposals. Transfer is demonstrated when you can apply the same principles to a new setting, such as a classroom, sports field, home, bus stop, laboratory, workshop, or community event.

OERs on the Topic

The English Wikipedia article on first aid can be used as an additional open reference for definitions, history, and links to related emergency-care topics.

Linked Learning Areas

First aid connects health knowledge with decision-making, communication, citizenship, biology, physical education, and safety. You use knowledge of the human body to understand breathing and circulation; communication skills to call for help; teamwork to organize a response; and responsible citizenship to protect yourself and others.

First Aid and Emergency Response

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