10 Questions
What is the primary purpose of triage in emergency medical incidents?
To categorize patients based on the severity of their injuries and prioritize their need for treatment and transportation
What is the responsibility of the Triage Sector officer in regards to patient accountability?
To account for and tag patients appropriately
What is the role of the Triage Sector officer in reporting to Command?
To provide frequent progress reports
Who may handle triage responsibilities at smaller incidents?
The first arriving company officer and their crew
Who should assume Command at larger incidents with more than 10 patients?
The first arriving company officer
What is the purpose of the Triage Sector officer wearing a sector vest?
To identify themselves as the Triage Sector officer
Where might triage be performed in a large incident?
At multiple locations, depending on site safety and patient arrangement
What is included in a Triage Report?
The number of patients and their classification
Why is a Triage Report important?
To communicate the incident size and patient status to all responding crews
What happens after the Triage Report is completed?
Triage crews are reassigned to other functions
Study Notes
Triage Sector Responsibilities
- The purpose of triage is to categorize patients based on the severity of their injuries, prioritize their need for treatment and transportation, and stabilize life-threatening injuries.
- The Triage Sector officer determines the location, number, and condition of patients.
- Triage is performed in coordination with the Extrication Sector, and may be done in place or at the entrance to the treatment area.
- The Triage Sector officer assigns and supervises triage teams and ensures patient triage is based on S.T.A.R.T. criteria.
- Life-saving emergency medical care is provided as needed, and patients are accounted for and tagged appropriately.
- The Triage Sector officer ensures safety and accountability of all assigned personnel and provides frequent progress reports to Command.
Triage Process
- Patients should be triaged and tagged before movement to a treatment area.
- IMMEDIATE patients are moved first, followed by DELAYED patients.
- Triage may be performed away from the impact area, depending on the safety of the site and the arrangement of patients.
Triage Tagging
- Triage tagging is completed in accordance with procedures established in Volume 12 (“Triage Tagging”).
Triage Report
- The Triage Report includes the number of patients and their classification (e.g., IMMEDIATE, DELAYED, MINORS).
- The Triage Report communicates the size of the major medical incident to all responding crews.
- The report provides Command with essential information regarding decisions to call for additional resources or to scale back the response.
General Guidelines
- At smaller incidents (up to 10 patients), triage may be handled by the first arriving company officer and their crew.
- At larger incidents (more than 10 patients), the first arriving company officer assumes Command and assigns Triage to the next arriving fire company.
- In a very large incident, it may be necessary to establish multiple triage locations.
- The Triage Sector Officer wears a sector vest for identification purposes.
This quiz covers the procedures for categorizing patients based on the severity of their injuries, prioritizing their need for treatment and transportation in emergency medical incidents.
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