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Emergency Response Basics

Know what to do in the first critical minutes of any emergency.

35 min Beginner 7 modules Pass 80%
For: Nonprofit staff and volunteers

What you’ll learn

  • React calmly and decisively in the first minutes of an emergency
  • Follow your emergency action plan, evacuation, and shelter procedures
  • Know when to call 911 and what to say
  • Recognize when CPR, an AED, choking care, or bleeding control is needed
  • Help build a go-kit and a working communication-and-roles plan

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Course outline

  1. 1

    The first 60 seconds: stay calm, take charge

    Emergencies are won or lost in the first minute.

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  2. 2

    Your Emergency Action Plan (EAP)

    The best time to figure out what to do in an emergency is long before one happens.

    6 min Quiz
  3. 3

    Fire & evacuation: RACE and PASS

    Fire moves fast and fills a room with smoke in seconds.

    6 min Quiz Interactive
  4. 4

    Medical emergencies: 911, CPR, AED & choking

    Most volunteer-setting medical emergencies come down to a handful of situations: someone collapses, someone can’t breathe, or someone is badly hurt.

    8 min Quiz Interactive
  5. 5

    Stop the Bleed: control severe bleeding

    Uncontrolled bleeding is the number-one cause of preventable death from trauma — and a person can bleed to death in just a few minutes.

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  6. 6

    Severe weather & sheltering

    Different weather threats call for opposite responses.

    5 min Quiz Interactive
  7. 7

    Communication, roles & your go-kit

    In a real emergency, two things fall apart fastest: who is doing what, and how people communicate.

    5 min Quiz Interactive

Sources & further reading

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