What Are The Essential First Aid Supplies For Schools (Mass Casualty – Earthquake Preparedness)

I have more than 30 years of experience in the emergency response business as a firefighter and disaster response trainer. That experience has enabled me to develop a practical list of first aid supplies with the ideal quantities that will allow you to treat the expected number of victims that large earthquake may cause.

First aid supplies is your #1 priority when it comes to disaster preparedness. However, preparing for a mass casualty disaster can be difficult especially if you don’t have any experience with large scale emergencies.

If you’ve only been guessing how much quantity do you need for each emergency item, then this tool will solve that problem for you.

Check out our School Earthquake Preparedness Guide and Checklist, I've put together all the important first aid supplies that will make a real difference in a real disaster.  

But first,

What kind of injuries could you expect and how many people do you think could be injured?

As much as we want everyone to be safe without any injuries, a large earthquake will definitely do some damage. That damage will depend on your building structure, furniture placement, glass hazards, and where the person is while the ground is shaking.

And as much as we want everyone to do “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” – there will still be people who will freak out and run increasing their odds of becoming a victim.

This is why it’s crucial to have sufficient first aid supplies available. You should expect minor injuries like scrapes, wounds, cuts, fractures, and severe injuries like severe bleeding and shock that may lead to death.

Now, to help you decide how much you need, here’s our free Disaster Preparedness Calculator for Schools. It gives you instant results for the ideal quantity of supplies you need based on the number of persons at your school.

Now, if you want to build your own disaster first aid kit, here’s how:

First Aid Kit Supply Calculation For Every 150 persons

To make it easy for you, we are suggesting these items for every 150 persons.

• 2 Stretchers – for transporting the injured
• 50 pr. Vinyl gloves – protection from body fluids
• 15 Trauma dressings 5×9 –for control of severe bleeding
• 50 Gauze dressings 4×4 – for control of moderate bleeding
• 15 Triangular bandages – for arm slings/pressure dressings
• 10 rolls of Gauze bandages – for securing dressings
• 100 Band-aids – for small scrapes
• 5 Arm cardboard splints – for arm fractures
• 1 bottle of Burn Gel – treat burns
• 5 Ice packs – to reduce swelling from bumps and bruises
• 20 Sterile water pouches – treating burns/flushing wounds
• 5 rolls of First Aid tape – securing bandages and dressings
• 1 roll of Duct tape – used for triage tags and securing splints
• 10 Emergency thermal blankets – warmth, treat shock victims
• 2 Paramedic scissors – heavy duty cutting
• 1 Tweezers – removing glass and wood splinters
• 100 Antiseptic wipes – cleansing minor wounds
• 100 Antimicrobial wipes – disinfection of rescuer
• 2 First aid guides - first aid instruction

So if your school population is 600, then you will divide it by 150 = 4 and that will be your multiplier for each of the items.

Equation: [Number of supply] x [Multiplier]

Example computation:

School Population: 600 / 150 = 4 is your Multiplier

50 pr. Vinyl Gloves x 4 = 200 pr. Vinyl Gloves

Easier Option

We’ve put together a Disaster First Aid bag that contains the ideal number of supplies for every 150 persons at your site.

Reminder:

If your school is ready to invest in first aid supplies, don’t let it go to waste – all of the above supplies are useless if your staff doesn’t know how to use them. So it is essential to get your staff prepared with proper training. Training classes provide confidence and reduce panic in the staff in knowing they are doing the right thing which directly affects their ability to save lives. Read more about Disaster Response TrainingSkills Training for Schools here.