5 Ways To Handle An Emergency Situation

An emergency can happen at any time and place, and more often than not we are not fully prepared for it. Emergencies require immediate action, and knowing how to handle such situations can be vital.
Being well-prepared for an emergency is important, so here are 5 ways that will show you how to handle these situations.

Stay calm

To be able to properly handle an emergency it is fundamental to keep calm. Feeling anxious and confusedis perfectly normal, as the body produces a hormone called cortisol that slows down the process of planning. You must, therefore, take deep breaths and count slowly up to ten to calm yourself down.

Understand what happened

Knowing what happened will help you decide how to handle the situation in the best way. There are different scenarios for emergencies to happen. If a building catches fire, you will evacuate it; someone is injured or not feeling well, you will seek medical assistance; or if a car accident takes place, you willfirstly make sure that everyone is okay and nobody needs medical attention before proceeding to see the damages. It is important to clearly and calmly understand what happened in order to react properly to the emergency.

Keep safe

Before being able to help others, you have to make sure that you are away from any danger. Just like during the safety procedures on a flight it is explained that you should first take care of your own oxygen mask and then helpanyone else who requires assistance to put on theirs, the same goes for any other emergency situation. You won't be able to help others if you are not safe yourself first.

Assist others

Once you have established the cause of the emergency and made sure you are calm and safe, you can start assisting others in need. Remember, if you are not capable of physically helping a person but they are conscious, you can speak to them - verbally reassuring can help a person calm down and handle the situation in a more efficient way.

Seek for help

As you help those in need, start seeking for some extra assistance, such as police, firemen and ambulances. Use your mobile phone just to call for help - in Malta, you can dial 112 for emergency support.|
Should you ever find yourself in an emergency situation, keeping these 5 steps in mind will help you deal with it in a safer way.

Here's alist of all the Maltese contacts you will require during any kind of emergency situation.