Canaan Valley Volunteer Fire Department hosted their first Stop the Bleed class on Saturday at their fire hall.
Stop the Bleed is a national initiative that began after the Sandy Hook school shooting. The goal of the initiative is to teach the general public how to respond in any situation where someone is bleeding or hemorrhaging.
The class teaches participants on bleeding control techniques, such as applying direct pressure, wound packing, and fixing dressings and tourniquets.
Approximately 10 people attended the free course led by Shannon Harman Kerr and Joe Strait. “I think it was a success,” Harman Kerr said. “Everyone was engaged in the hands on portion.” The fire department owns two Stop the Bleed kits, which include simulation appendages for participants to practice the techniques.
Similar to how CPR classes are widely taught, Stop the Bleed courses intend to disseminate bleeding control techniques. Like CPR and first aid courses, course participants receive a certificate of completion.
“Much like the CPR initiative, everybody should be able to do something when one of the three ABCs are compromised,” Canaan Valley Fire Chief Sandy Green said. ABC stands for airway, breathing, and circulation. Bleeding control relates to the healthy and safe circulation of blood necessary to keep a victim alive.
“Sometimes the initial wound is not going to kill you, but unless the bleeding is stopped it may,” Chief Green said.
The course prepares participants to respond to shootings, stabbing, motor vehicles accidents, and sports injuries. “It prepares people for any kind of accident where suddenly the patient is bleeding and will not be getting medical attention in the next five minutes,” Harman Kerr said.
According to bleedingcontrol.org, victims can die from uncontrolled bleeding in five to 10 minutes.
“The course goes over the applications, but also goes over the background and the medical reasoning, why you would choose which intervention,” Harman Kerr said.
Canaan Valley Volunteer Fire Department plans to host another Stop the Bleed course in the upcoming months. “This is our public outreach,” Chief Green said.