Emergency First Aid: Dos and Don'ts

With sporadic events of violence and chaos erupting on the streets, injuries and deaths have been accumulating.
So what can you do when you encounter someone who has been badly hurt by an arson attack or any other form of physical trauma?
Your priority should be to seek professional medical help. That would entail calling an ambulance and the police. There are also teams of trained volunteer First Responders available in case of an emergency. The emergency numbers are provided. They can also be contacted through their Android app, CriticaLink. Since some of the services are exclusive to the Dhaka metropolitan area; look up and memorise the emergency hotlines in your respective city or town if you live elsewhere.

Before you attempt to aid any injured person, make sure that you yourself are not in danger. While you wait for assistance to arrive, you may try to move the injured person away from further harm, especially from places where there's an excess of smoke since that might cause asphyxiation. Only do that if you're sure there have been no spinal or neck injuries or any broken bones.
One of the first steps should be to check if the person is conscious. Try to get a response by asking simple questions and shaking their shoulders gently. If they are unconscious, assume that there have been severe injuries and that he or she shouldn't be moved. Remove any constricting items such as belts, jewellery etc.
Regardless of the nature of the injuries, if unconscious, check for breathing. Wait for signs for at least 10 seconds and if they're not breathing, try to clear the airway by tilting the head back and keeping the neck straight. If that proves ineffective, perform CPR on them. With the heel of one or both hands on top of the chest, push down thrice at five second intervals and then blow air into the mouth while keeping the nostrils blocked.
If there's bleeding, put pressure on the wound and try to wrap it with a clean cloth with appropriate tautness. If convinced of broken limbs, you can try to put a slab under the limb and tie them together so that the broken bone does not move.

In case of burns, only apply clean, cold water if the burn is small. Immersing large burns in cold water may cause hypothermia, decreased blood pressure and cause shock. Don't break the blisters or apply cream, lotion or ointments to the burnt area since that increases the chance of infection. You may gently apply a cold moist cloth to the wound but don't remove any burnt pieces of clothing from the body. Elevate the burnt area above heart level if possible.
Remember these are only emergency measures to undertake while you wait for professional help.