College Emergency Guide: How to Handle the Unexpected

What makes it an “Emergency?”

            An emergency is marked by a serious, dangerous, or unexpected situation that requires immediate response or action. What does this look like in real time? Sometimes it’s someone losing consciousness suddenly. Sometimes it’s an incoming storm. Sometimes, it’s a threat. Unfortunately, there is no shortage of examples for modern emergencies.

There are many ways that emergencies take form in everyday life, and it’s important to be aware of some of the emergencies that you may encounter as a college student, on or off the campus. Being prepared or informed about how to handle different emergency situations before they happen can be the difference between safety and danger, harm, or loss of life. The purpose of this guide is to give you a starting point in your road to preparation, and to inform you of some of the things you may need to acquire, learn, or look out for.

The College Emergency Guide

            Handling emergencies well is a skill that cannot be understated, because emergencies are part of life. So, we’ll look at a few that you may encounter in college, on or off campus.

Medical Emergency

            Medical emergencies cover a long list of potential issues that may arise with you, or someone else. However, not every medical issue is considered an emergency. A headache on its own is probably not an emergency—an inconvenience, sure, but no need for serious alarm. A headache after losing consciousness and falling on the floor should be taken more seriously.

            It can be confusing to know exactly what constitutes a “medical emergency,” so for reference, here is a list of signs and issues that would be immediately considered an emergency:

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
• Bleeding that will not stop
• Sudden irritability, confusion, or strange change in behavior (also being difficult to rouse)
• Check pain or pressure lasting for two minutes or more
• Choking
• Coughing up blood or vomiting blood
• Fainting, or loss of consciousness
• Inability to speak
• Severe pain or pressure anywhere in the body
• Sudden dizziness, change in vision, or weakness
• Swelling in the face, eyes, or tongue
• Seizure
• Inability to stand or walk
• Suicidal or homicidal feelings

If any of these arise in someone around you, then we treat it as a serious emergency and move into the three 3’s of medical emergencies: Check, Call, Care. These are listed in the order you carry them out.

Check is step one. Check the scene, your surroundings, and what’s going on with the person. Make sure that you won’t put yourself or someone else in danger by moving to the person. An example might be if the person is in the street, you need to make sure that no cars are coming before you run to them. If not, you put yourself, whoever might be coming in a car, and the person having the emergency in danger.

When you are able to safely go to the person having the emergency, if possible, get their consent to check them. A simple “is it okay if I check you?” If they are not conscious, this step is skipped. If they can give consent, you are only looking for obvious signs of harm or injury. If they are conscious, they may be able to tell you what’s wrong, or gesture to the area of issue. Once you’ve checked, move quickly to call.

Call 911, or have someone nearby do that immediately, and explain where you are, what’s going on, and what happened (if you know) as calmly as possible. Then put the operator on speaker—they have been trained in some medical situations and may be able to walk you through what to do. DO NOT hang up until they say it’s safe to do so. If there is emergency equipment (a first aid kit or AED) retrieve them or have them retrieved quickly

Then comes Care, which may be done with the operator on the phone. Care for the person in the emergency as best as you can. If you are trained in CPR or First Aid and the situation calls for it, great! If not, do only as the operator tells you. If they are bleeding, use a cloth, t-shirt, towel, or something like that and apply pressure to the wound. This should help the blood clot and keep more of it in the body. Keep pressure on it until help arrives.

            If you come across someone who has fallen, appears injured or unconscious, or has been involved in some kind of accident, do not move them. Unless you know for certain that they have not injured their neck or spine, do not move them. Moving someone with a neck or spine injury without the proper training or treatment could make the situation much worse.

            If someone is having a seizure, clear the area around them of anything hard, sharp, or hot—anything that could injure them if they bump or hit it. Place something soft under their head and neck area, like a not-too-fluffy pillow or rolled up jacket, to keep them from harming their head and neck against the floor.

You don’t want anything too large under their head that would bend the neck too much, as that may make it difficult for them to breathe. DO NOT put anything in their mouth—they cannot swallow their tongue while having a seizure, but they can choke on something in their mouth or break their teeth. If it is safe to do so, move them on their side with their mouth pointing towards the floor to help keep their airway open, or wait until the seizure has passed to do this if it is not safe during.

For someone having a heart attack, give them chewable aspirin and have them chew on that while waiting for help to arrive. Stay near them.

In the case of an allergic reaction, ask if they or anyone nearby has an EpiPen. If the reaction is severe or anaphylactic, they will need to be injected with an EpiPen. To use an EpiPen, remember the motto “Blue to the sky, Orange to the thigh,” indicating that the blue part of the pen is the push part and the orange part goes against the middle of the outer thigh.

You’ll need to release the safety for the blue trigger by pulling it up. To inject, swing your arm toward the middle of the outer thigh and push the trigger until it clicks, injecting it into their leg. Hold for 3 seconds, then remove the needle and massage the injection area for about 10 seconds. They will still need to go to the hospital, so if 911 has not already been called by the time they are injected, do that immediately after.

Health and safety are massively important, and being prepared to handle medical emergencies is key to keeping everyone safe and finding the best outcome. As such, having a first aid kit in your dorm and car is a very good idea. First Aid kits provide you with the equipment, bandages, medicine, and supplies that you need to cover basic medical issues and manage emergencies until help can arrive.

The Mayo Clinic provides a thorough list of what to have in your first aid kit on their website. You probably won’t need everything on the list, but it is a great reference to use when you’re looking to stock up on your first aid supplies. Some things that you absolutely need to have include bandages of different kinds, antibiotics, hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol, and different kinds of over-the-counter pain medication, like Advil and Tylenol.

Having a well-stocked first aid kit in your home/dorm and car is a good idea for all walks of life, not just college. You never know when you might need it—which is what makes it so important.

Car Accidents

            Car accidents range from minor things like fender benders, to major wrecks like pileups and rolled vehicles. While ideally, we hope that it’s never something that we have to experience, it’s important to know what to do if the situation arises.

            The process of events is similar to the steps for a medical emergency, unsurprising since car accidents can be the cause of medical emergencies. The first thing to do when you are in a car accident is check on all parties involved. The first priority is always safety and health. Check to see if anyone is injured and ask if everyone is okay. If someone is unconscious, injured, or panicked, be sure to keep them as still as possible.

            Whatever you do, DO NOT apologize. I know that seems like an odd thing to say, especially from a Christian perspective, but with car accidents the procedure is a little different. If you apologize, you have effectively taken blame and therefore all responsibility for the accident. It may be difficult, especially when you’re panicked and it feels like the thing to say to calm everyone, but don’t say you’re sorry. Just check to ensure everyone is alright, and if they aren’t, try to keep them still and calm.

            Call 911 as soon as you can, let them know what’s happened, where you are in detail, and the status of everyone involved. If someone is injured or unconscious, let them know. They will ask where you are, they will ask if everyone is alright or if anyone is seriously injured, they will ask if you’re blocking traffic or in a dangerous place and if the cars can be or have been moved. They will send a police officer, ambulance, and fire and rescue team, depending on the need and situation. Do not hang up until they tell you it is safe to do so.

            If the cars are in a dangerous place and can be moved, do so, but only if it is safe to. Then, exchange information with the other drivers involved. This is assigning blame or explaining your side of what happened. This is exchanging insurance information, phone numbers, and email addresses. Take pictures of the accident, of your car and their cars, of their license plates, and all damage.

            When the authorities arrive, safety will be their priority, so if there is an injured party, that will take precedence. But they will conduct their own report, take their own pictures, and ask each party what happened. You may ask them how to use their report for your insurance claim, and they will let you know what to do.

            If there were any witnesses to the incident, you should politely ask for their names and contact information as well. You don’t need any insurance information from them, just a phone number or email address. Car accidents are incredibly unpleasant but be sure to remain calm. Don’t yell, don’t get angry, and don’t be baited into apologizing or fighting. Let the insurance providers and police determine fault. All you need to do is stay calm and follow these steps.

Fire Safety

            Fire safety is commonly discussed on college campuses, as they have to adhere to federal and state fire safety guidelines, which means marked exits, evacuation routes, and certain code standards in their buildings and rooms. Usually, at the beginning of each school year, they have a campus safety meeting of some sort, where they explain what to do when the fire alarm goes off, where to go, and what to do when you know you’re safe.

            While you’ll need to go to your campus safety meeting or look on your college’s website for specific evacuation routes, some basic things to know are not to use elevators during a fire safety concern, drop whatever you’re doing, take nothing with you (except people and /or animals), and use the nearest evacuation route/exit. Remain calm and follow the crowd if you’re unsure.

Natural Disaster

            With natural disasters, as with fire safety, your school will have specific evacuation routes and procedures for the different emergencies. It’s important to know what to expect from your area. For colleges in the Midwest, tornadoes are a specific concern and are not handled the same way as a hurricane or blizzard. For a tornado, typically you go to the lowest floor of the building you’re in or nearest to and find a room with few or no external doors or windows.

            For hurricanes, depending on the severity, you may be required to evacuate. In those cases, your college will coordinate with you about where to go, and if in doubt, take a trip home. If it’s not expected to be severe enough for evacuation, you should still be prepared with an emergency kit, in case of water contamination, loss of power, and being stuck or isolated due to flooding. Here are some basics for an emergency kit that you should keep in your dorm and car:

• First Aid Kit
• Flashlight (extra batteries)
• Bottles of water (1 gallon per person per day for several days)
• Non-perishable foods (energy bars, dried fruit, canned goods)
• Hand sanitizer
• Flare
• Whistle
• Scissors, tarp (plastic sheeting), duct tape
• Hand crank or battery powered radio (with extra batteries)
• Tools (can opener, wrench, pliers, crowbar)
• Some hygiene products, wipes, deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, rubbing alcohol, hand soap (bar)
• Dust mask

If you are in an area prone to blizzards and extremely cold winters, you should also be prepared with plenty of blankets, thick clothing, and water-resistant outer-wear and shoes. It may feel dooms-day-ish and silly to prepare these things, but again, you never know when you’re going to need them. If you wait until it’s necessary, it’s often too late. Having them ahead of time can be the difference that keeps you safe and alive during an emergency.

Active Shooter/Threat

            The final emergency we’ll bring up is an Active shooter/threat. We especially hope that you never encounter this, but with violent crimes and school shootings existing, we feel it’s necessary and important to prepare you for the possibility.

            Most colleges have a procedure for active threat cases, which is as follows: Run, Hide, Fight.

            These are not necessarily listed in the order they should be executed; they are entirely situational. This means that depending on the situation, one of these will be a better option than the others. That said, “fight” should always be a last resort, when there is no other option and you are in imminent danger if you don’t fight.

            Running is preferable if you can safely escape. You should take a second to truly understand what is going on and where the shooter is. Blindly running can put you in their path and that’s the last place you want to be. Check around corners before you bolt, listen for where the screaming and gun shots are, and try to get as far away as possible. Call 911 as soon as you can. Be sure to keep your hands out of your pockets and away from your body when running. If the authorities are already on the scene, you do not want them to mistake you for the attacker.

            If you can’t determine where the shooter is or can’t safely get to an exit, hiding may be a better option. Find nearest secure room, lock the door, barricade it, and make it as difficult as possible for anyone to get in. Turn off the lights, close any shades or curtains, and stay out of sight. Call 911 and inform them of your location. Turn your phone on silent.

If the fire alarm goes off, DO NOT leave your hiding place unless you know there is a fire. The attacker may have pulled the fire alarm to draw people out. Stay in your hiding place until the authorities come and let you know that the danger is passed. If you cannot confirm that they are police or emergency services, call 911 and ask if they have reached your location BEFORE emerging.

            Fight should be your last resort. If you are hiding, find heavy, blunt objects like a fire extinguisher or fill a bag full of books. Position yourself in such a way that the attacker would not be able to see you easily (around a corner) and aim to incapacitate them. The goal is to separate them from the gun or render them unconscious. Do what you have to. If you are in a room with multiple people, once one person attacks, the best chance of overpowering the attacker comes with swarming them. When you overpower them, restrain them until help arrives and have someone let the authorities know where you are.

Handling College Emergencies

            Talking about college emergencies is heavy but dealing with them with no idea what to do is much worse. These aren’t fun topics, but it is undeniably important to begin informing yourself on how to deal with these difficult situations now so that when something happens, you can be prepared.

            We strongly encourage you to consider researching these topics in more depth, taking first aid and CPR classes, and putting together emergency and first aid kits. Trust me, it’s better to be prepared and never needed, than unprepared and sorry. We hope this information helps you stay safe as you engage with all that college has to offer you!

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