How to respond to a very serious incident at the DZ as a non medic ?

[riggerrob 643]

"... At Perris years ago I was the only first aid trained person at the DZ. A friend hooked it in on a new downsized canopy. He was bleeding to death from open bi lateral femur fractures. His teammates, all good friends of mine, stayed very calm and followed instructions, applying pressure to stop the bleeding ..."

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Which is why it may be best to leave the harness on the wounded. Leaving the leg straps snug may also help control shock ... a call best made by trained emergency medical personnel.

[DSE 5]

This link has some great information relevant to the topic.
https://vimeo.com/36629075
Aimed at firefighters, it also benefits general skydivers.

[Imanewdiver 0]

As an EMT I always check in with the DZ and let them know I'm willing to help with anything.

[DrDom 0]

kvnhlstd

I learned a long time ago when I was cycling on the road to carry a road ID bracelet. All my contact info as well as my known allergies are on the bracelet. I would add to check for the bracelet on the wrist or ankle if the patient is unconscious or unable to answer questions.

Hmmm... I wonder if we could make people start carrying ID on a jump.. maybe sewn into their jumpsuit or on their rig someplace... I could see a jumper from another DZ visiting and nobody knowing how to contact anyone for them or even their name

You are not the contents of your wallet.

[topdocker 0]

One thing that has not been mentioned: if there is a serious incident at the DZ and the news cameras show up, make sure to call/text/email those that know you are jumping that it wasn't you. Don't leave your loved ones hanging until you come home that you are good, give them peace of mind.

top

Jump more, post less!

[Snowwhite 0]

I helped with the organization of the WFFC for a few years. We always knew that the possibility of a 1000 different horrible accident combinations were out there. It would be impossible to prepare for every single one of them, but we knew that there should be a general plan of action in case any one of them should occur. At the staff level, we talked about "what if?" scenarios. We put together our plan and
we determined who our key personnel should an accident happen. Every dz has an opportunity to make a similar plan and put it into action.
This should be discussed at every single dz on safety day.

skydiveTaylorville.org
freefallbeth@yahoo.com

[fencebuster 7]

Manifest should have all jumpers registered and manifested for each jump. The waiver should have a place to identify who to contact in the event of an emergency. ANd, if there are two jumpers who are married, for example, who could be on the same load, their emergency contact should not be each other but a third person or family member.

Charlie Gittins, 540-327-2208
AFF-I, Sigma TI, IAD-I
MEI, CFI-I, Senior Rigger
Former DZO, Blue Ridge Skydiving Adventures

[Jojo89 0]

Quote

Hmmm... I wonder if we could make people start carrying ID on a jump.. maybe sewn into their jumpsuit or on their rig someplace... I could see a jumper from another DZ visiting and nobody knowing how to contact anyone for them or even their name

I like that idea. Standard patch with:
Name, Surname
Contact
Organ Donor or not

or something like that!

[Imanewdiver 0]

Google Road ID - I use it for racing motorcycles, sky, and scuba diving.

[D0z3r 0]

DrDom

As an ER doc I'm hoping to put something together and teach for free to some DZs in the area. I do a class called "Injury and Illness at Sporting events" for lay rescuers in the community, but its far from specific to skydiving (gear and such varies).

The most important things are:
Step Zero: DO NOT try and rescue someone if it is dangerous to do so. Nothing is worse than a single victim becoming a mass casualty incident.
1) CALL EMS EARLY. Seriously. If you aren't 100% sure you should call (EMS does not mind being called off)
2) Do not move the person unless they are in imminent danger of death from another cause (power lines, drowning, fire, wild animals, etc)
3) Prevent them from moving their head. Immobilize them in place if possible using your hands.
4) If they are not breathing, you can try a "jaw thrust" (google it). You lift the jaw without moving the neck. There is a high likelihood of neck injury with typical skydiving injuries. You could potentially paralyze someone if you move them.
5) If they vomit or have blood in their mouth and can not breathe you may need to "log roll" them while supporting their neck. It is a rare time you may need to move someone. Roll them as a unit with help, practice beforehand.
6) If the injury is more mild remember "bones only bend at joints", if one is "bent" elsewhere do not move it, you can make a fracture much much worse as well as the pain
7) Control temperature. They may be in shock and unable to thermoregulate. If its cold warm them. If its warm get them in the shade.
8) give them NOTHING by mouth. Nothing.
9) Keep them calm, keep yourself calm, and be patient. It WILL feel like a lifetime.
10) You should ONLY remove gear if you are trained to do so. Let the responders do it. Consider disconnecting their main parachute via standard cutaway if possible, it gets one more variable out of the way.

There is a lot to it, the single best thing you can do is sort out who had medical training at your DZ (theres a lot of us out there) and ask if they can help teach. Most people in healthcare love to teach!

This is a Great List, But i must add one thing. Sometimes it takes us a little bit to get to the patient, and in that timeframe a lot can change. One of the greatest assists a bystander ever did for me, while not on a dz incident, was to tell me everything the patient said/did before my arrival. sometimes a bystander will have a few minutes with a patient before they go unconscious, use this time to figure out some of the pertinent info I need to go to work! Name, age, allergies, medications, past medical history, where it hurts, and what happened. Can really be helpful for treatment plans when we have this available. other than that, stand back, but stand ready, we usually need help for on and off dz incidents when our backup is a ways out, and if you can follow directions, and maintain a cool and calm head, it does not matter what kind of skills or knowledge you have, you will be a HUGE asset to the medics. My 13 year old little brother was the best helper when someone streamered in on our dz, and there was 20-30 grown adults standing around attempting to help! one of whom i found out later was a nurse..[:|

[Amazon 7]

My two cents...

Take this for what it is worth and it comes from being around far too many people I once knew.
If you are not on the list of personnel at the dz assigned and are not one of the very first people responding..... I would suggest turning around and walking the other direction.
When I see a low cutaway... I do not watch..
I have seen the outcome too many times..
I have heard that sickening sound of a body slamming into the ground at too high a speed.
I have tried to administer first aid to a friend... who was already dead.. but I had to try. I have tried to give CPR to a corpse... already turning blue and his leg bones sticking out of the sides of his tennis shoes but we tried.

Turn around and walk away... do not watch... no one needs those dreams.

[DiverMike 5]

One more small thing - In my First Aid I keep a pencil and paper to record the exact time everything happened, what was done as part of first aid, vital statistics taken, anything the person said, anything the people around the person said that might be helpful. I give the paper to the EMT's who take it with the patient to the ER. I am not sure it has ever helped, but the EMT's seem grateful for the additional information.

I have also done mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing and given CPR to someone who did not make it. It is not something I would want to do again,but I would definitely do it if there were any hope the individual might make it.

For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board.

[format 1]

shorehambeach

I land pretty close (unaware that the incident has happened) and his jump buddy is screaming "If your not medically trained GET THE F*CK OUT I MEAN IT GET THE F*CK AWAY.

Without reading whole thread, my conclusion is "be careful who you jump with"
and I'll read the rest now

edited after reading:

Quote

A good friend (Greg) arrived about this time and asked how he could help? I told him to get the asshole away from me. Now Greg is about 6' 1", 210lbs. He grabbed said asshole by the shirt collar and had to literally pick him up off the ground to move him away.

Always jump with Greg or such

What goes around, comes later.

[Snowwhite 0]

carry your cellphone in your jumpsuit! What a basic thing, and the number of people who leave it in their locker amazes me. "I didn't want to break the phone". But if you are hurt and laying in a field and we are all looking for you, WHO CARES!
Or if you see someone who needs attention, or who you THINK might need attention, pull your cellphone out and call manifest. Yes. MANIFEST. Let them call the correct people for the situation. They may already know about it, they may already have people on the way.
It may have been an inflatable shark.

skydiveTaylorville.org
freefallbeth@yahoo.com

[DrDom 0]

DiverMike

One more small thing - In my First Aid I keep a pencil and paper to record the exact time everything happened, what was done as part of first aid, vital statistics taken, anything the person said, anything the people around the person said that might be helpful. I give the paper to the EMT's who take it with the patient to the ER. I am not sure it has ever helped, but the EMT's seem grateful for the additional information.

I have also done mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing and given CPR to someone who did not make it. It is not something I would want to do again,but I would definitely do it if there were any hope the individual might make it.

I'll be the "fun killer" and just tell everyone that the survival of a "blunt trauma arrest" is basically zero. Its not zero if you're in a Level 1 trauma center on an operating table; but doing CPR after a blunt trauma cardiac arrest is going to be futile. Would I do it? Probably, but usually its a problem with blood loss in the chest, abdomen, pelvis, or the ground; or its secondary to massive head injury. Some EMS services in our area are not transporting blunt trauma arrests (we think mostly fall from ladder or high speed crashes) to the hospital. I bring this up ONLY because if you don't know the person well enough to trust they don't have a communicable disease, consider the risk to yourself doing mouth-to-mouth or even CPR (now "CCR" with the compression only style).

You are not the contents of your wallet.