SURVIVAL INSTRUCTIONS
Anticipation and awareness are the keys to surviving an emergency. Once having taken stock of your situation, including everyone’s physical condition, now it is time to look to the immediate future. The aspect that carries the most potential danger is the weather.
Desert Climate:If you are in a desert climate, making sure you have protection from the sun (shade) will protect you from sunburn and heat exhaustion. Use your water sparingly and wisely, sipping instead of drinking deeply. Gauging your location’s potential for being seen by passersby is important.
On your way to the accident scene, did you see other vehicles. If flying, think of your own flight plan. Were you on a regular flight path between cities, or had you diverged?
If you were driving your car, did you pass many other vehicles? Which direction were those vehicles headed (in the same direction or opposite)? This kind of information can give you a gauge of not only where potential rescuers might come from, but also the potential time before rescue.
How far away is the main road where you turned off? If there are no injuries, and the main road is not too many miles away, it may be better to hike to the main artery to try to get help. If you are alone and decide to hike, put out the Aerial Rescue Panel and leave a written message about your intentions (direction of travel, estimated time of departure,, and physical condition, etc.). Make sure most of your body is covered as well as possible before you set out to prevent sunburn, and take as much water as you can easily carry.
Winter Climate:Insulating your person and other survivors against the effects of bitter cold is extremely important. Take a careful inventory of your assets against the cold. If your vehicle is not dangerous, use it as your primary shelter, but take care not to overestimate its ability to keep the cold out.
Be especially wary of potential sources of fumes. If the vehicle was damaged, make sure you stay alert to any potential fumes from leaking gas or other sources. Either keep a window slightly open or regularly let fresh air in.
For added protection from wind and cold, situate the Aerial Rescue Panel over the entire vehicle so it serves to both signal for help and to cut the effects of the weather. (In cases where the vehicle might be hidden by trees or situated away from view of potential passersby, put the panel where it can be best seen.
Carefully monitor your use of water and food. Depending on the remoteness of your location, you should carefully gauge water and food intake. Try to prevent your water supply from freezing, but take care not to spend too much body heat to do so. Also, if there is snow around, it may be water waiting to melt but putting snow or ice in your mouth does lower your body temperature.
If you have a flashlight, use it, but sparingly. And if it is cold, make sure you warm the batteries with your hand or body before turning it on each time.
If you are in an area with trees and brush, carefully build a fire in a location where you can use its heat but not threaten your vehicle or the Aerial Rescue Panel from floating sparks. Your fire is another kind of signal, but keep its size and intensity at a level you can control. A bonfire might bring help, but can also catch in surrounding trees and create a more serious situation.
Rainy Climate:
Again, assess your situation based on your immediate surroundings and the potential for rescue. In a rainstorm, understand that visibility from the air is limited. When placing the panel, look for an open area that has the best chance of being seen from a low-flying aircraft or potential passing car or truck. Watch for lightning. If you are on flat terrain, stay in the vehicle as much as possible as the rubber of the tires will help insulate against shock. If you are in a wooded area, try as much as possible to stay away from directly under trees.
If you have any kind of containers that might catch and hold water put them out and let the rain fill them. Use your ingenuity. Anything bowl-like can at least catch some water. If your vehicle (car or plane) is intact, look for things like the ashtray that can be removed and turned into a water receptacle.
Stay out of the rain as much as possible, once you have assessed your location and situation. Unless you have a change of clothing, the cold that comes from wearing wet clothing can be just as dangerous as winter temperatures. Once you have set the Aerial Rescue Panel, if you are soaked and have no change of clothing, return to the inside of your vehicle and try to stay as warm as possible to allow your clothing to dry from body heat.
Protection during the Night:
If you wind up spending the night at your rescue location, look ahead as far as possible. Rest is important, but remaining alert to potential rescuers and potential dangers is just as important. If you have built a fire, rotate watching over that fire with the other survivors. If you are alone, make sure the fire cannot catch in the surrounding brush in case you sleep.
And you should sleep. Rest will bring strength and is an antidote to fear and hunger. If your vehicle is intact or can at least provide protection against predatory animals, stay in it. Make sure you take care of toiletries before it is completely dark (if you don’t have a fire going or possibility of one). Stumbling out into the pitch dark of night to relieve your kidneys can be dangerous. Tripping over an unseen obstacle can create injury, or stumbling into a predatory animal hunting in the night can be worse.
If you have a flashlight, use it, but sparingly. And if it is cold, make sure you warm the batteries with your hand or body before turning it on each time.
Stay as alert as possible to sights and sounds. Lights off in the distance can mean searchers. If your horn still works, honk it. If you have nothing else, find something to beat against the metal of your vehicle. Any sound in response to potential rescue will help them find you. If you have a flashlight, point it in the direction of light or sound that might help to alert rescuers to your presence.
Home Emergency:General suggestions:
In emergency situations at home that require assistance (when you cannot leave the house, for whatever reason), the two most likely places to affix the Aerial Rescue Panel are on the roof or draped across the house itself (either with bungee chords or nails). Choose the location the faces the approach or travel of the likeliest rescuer.
If you do not have an emergency supply of water, find some. Make sure you know the source of the water. A leaking pipe is not necessarily a good source as the water could be contaminated from mixture with sewage, etc.
Make sure you stay away from potential sources of fire or explosion. If you have gas tanks, make sure they are turned off completely at the tank, or move as far away from them as possible to prevent injury in case of leakage or explosion.
In situations where there is severe damage to the structure itself, do not attempt to go inside to retrieve items, no matter how valuable. Unstable structures can collapse at any moment, and there may be nails or other sharp protruding items that aren’t seen until they penetrate. If someone is trapped inside, take extreme care in any effort to extricate them. You can accidentally make their situation worse, or find yourself just as caught by shifting timbers, etc.
Flood: If you are caught at home during a flood, move as quickly as possible to the highest part of the house. If that is still not enough, go to the roof. Make sure you take protective clothing such as raingear to keep as dry and warm as possible. Also, assemble a supply of simple food and a jug of water, just in case you are not rescued immediately. Affix the Aerial Rescue Panel to the roof using the bungee chords or nails, if necessary. Do not attempt to swim to safety unless given no choice by the circumstances.
Tornado:If your home is located in a remote area and your home is destroyed by tornado, or if there are injuries that require immediate attention, affix the Aerial Rescue Panel in the place it is most likely to be seen from overhead or the nearest roadway.
Hurricane:If your isolated location is damaged by hurricane and you have no transportation, affix the Aerial Rescue Panel once the weather has subsided as a call for assistance.
Forest Fire:If your isolated location is threatened by forest fire, affix the Aerial Rescue Panel in the place it is most likely to be seen from overhead or the nearest roadway.
General Medical Instructions
Open Wounds or Bleeding: The first thing to check after any accident or emergency is for open wounds or bleeding. If one of the survivors in your party has been wounded, first stop the flow as blood as efficiently as possible. This can be done by applying pressure using a clean cloth, (or any absorbent material), directly to the wound. In situations where it is obvious that pressure alone will not stop potentially lethal bleeding, apply a tourniquet between the wound and the heart (normally arm or leg). Tighten the tourniquet until the bleeding stops. But make sure to loosen it for awhile every twenty minutes or so to allow blood to reach other parts of the damaged limb.
Broken Bones: Check arms, legs, hands and feet of everyone in your party. Look for bruises, especially on children. If there is an obvious break, do not attempt to reset the bone, but splint it in the best possible manner using whatever materials will provide the most support.
Shock: Warmth and consciousness are the key elements to protecting a person who has experienced shock. Different people react to trauma and stress in different ways. Talk to the person softly, (do not hit or slap as sometimes seen on television). Keep the person warm and as alert as possible. Sleep can be helpful, (after checking for hidden wounds or physical trauma), but use gentle techniques in communicating and keeping their attention.
Internal Injury or Bleeding.
Concussion: Check to see if anyone was hit on head during the emergency. Look for bruises on children. If someone doesn’t remember, ask if they have a headache. If they do and they appear drowsy or sleepy, work to keep them conscious.
Stroke: If there are older people in your party, check their alertness, listen closely (even after the accident) for changes in their speech or movements. If they begin to slur their speech or they have trouble using their hands or walking, then it is possible they have experienced a slight stroke. If you have any aspirin with you, break it up into a little bit of water and give it to them.
Asthma: For any asthma sufferers in your group, check their supply of inhalants. If they made it through the event without an attack,, more than likely they will be okay. But delayed shock or stress can hit the body at any time. Make sure they know (and you) where their supply is at all times. If their supply of inhalants or medicine is lost, calmness and relaxation are your best weapons should an attack begin. Most experienced asthma sufferers know what they need.
Allergic Reaction: Many people are severely allergic to insect bites or plant-borne toxicants. If you or someone in your party is bitten by a wasp or bee, check first for allergic reaction, then make a compound of mud and apply it directly to the bite. It will not only soothe the pain but also help to pull the barb and the poison to the surface.
The human body is a lot tougher than most people realize. Take as much care as possible in protecting an injured individual in your party, but if there is a decision between kindness and survival—Survival takes precedent. If walking away from an accident site becomes the only alternative, even a person with a broken leg can be assisted on a journey to save their life.
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