First aid after an explosion or serious accident: what to do while you wait for help

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This page is general first aid information from St John Ambulance, the NHS and Ready.gov. It is not a substitute for training or for the 999 call handler, who will talk you through what to do. If you can, do a first aid course: hands-on practice makes this much easier to remember.

Checked against NHS and St John Ambulance guidance on 2 November 2026. Not a substitute for a first-aid course.

Do this now

1. Danger: make sure it's safe to approach. Check for fire, gas, smoke, falling debris and weak floors (St John Ambulance, Ready.gov).
2. Call 999 or 112. Put the phone on speaker and follow the call handler.
3. Heavy bleeding first: press hard on the wound with a dressing or clean cloth, and keep pressing.
4. Not breathing normally? Start CPR: hard and fast in the middle of the chest.
5. Burns: cool under cool running water for 20 minutes (NHS).
6. Keep them warm, still and calm until help arrives.

After an explosion: before you help anyone

Ready.gov's advice for explosions:

• If things are falling, get under a sturdy table or desk.
• Leave the area quickly if it's safe. Don't go back for belongings.
• Don't use lifts. Avoid floors and stairs that look weakened.
• Stay low if there's smoke. Cover your nose and mouth with whatever you have.
• If you're trapped, signal with a torch, a whistle or by tapping on pipes. Shout only as a last resort, so you don't breathe in dust.
• Don't try to rescue people trapped under debris. Moving it could cause more harm. Tell the emergency services exactly where they are.
• Text family rather than call, and save calls for emergencies.

If you smell gas, leave and call the gas emergency line from outside: see smell gas: what to do. For checking your home after a strike nearby, see is my home safe after a missile or drone strike?

Check each person: DR ABCDE

St John Ambulance's primary survey, in order:

1. Danger: is it safe for you?
2. Response: kneel, gently shake their shoulders, ask a question. No response? Get 999 called.
3. Airway: tilt the head back, lift the chin.
4. Breathing: look, listen and feel for 10 seconds. Gasping isn't normal breathing. Not breathing normally? Start CPR.
5. Circulation: look for severe bleeding and press on it.
6. Disability: confusion, signs of a stroke or head injury.
7. Exposure: check the whole body for hidden injuries and medical alert tags.

If there's life-threatening bleeding, St John Ambulance says control it with direct pressure straight away, before you go further.

Severe bleeding

From St John Ambulance:

1. Wear gloves if you have them.
2. Press firmly on the wound with a sterile dressing or clean, non-fluffy cloth. Cut away clothing if you need to. The injured person can press if they're able.
3. Something stuck in the wound? Don't pull it out. Press on either side of it instead: it may be acting as a plug.
4. Call 999 or 112 and say where the wound is and how heavy the bleeding is.
5. Bandage firmly to keep the pressure on, but not so tight it cuts off circulation. Press a nail or the skin beyond the bandage for 5 seconds until it turns pale, then let go: the colour should return within 2 seconds. If not, loosen and reapply. Recheck every 10 minutes.
6. If blood soaks through, St John Ambulance says remove the dressing and press again with a new one. The NHS cuts page says instead to add another pad on top without removing the first. Either way, keep the pressure on.
7. Treat for shock (below).

Life-threatening bleeding and tourniquets

St John Ambulance says that for life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg that pressure doesn't stop, or a very badly damaged limb, a tourniquet may be needed:

• Warn the person it will hurt.
• Put it on the limb above the injury, never on a joint.
• Tighten it until the bleeding stops, and secure it.
• Note the time.
• Never loosen it once it's on, or the bleeding will restart.

Call 999 first and follow the call handler's instructions. If you don't have a tourniquet, St John Ambulance describes improvising one: a triangular bandage, scarf or tie wrapped round the limb and twisted tight with a rod such as a pen. A belt pulled tight can also work. For wounds to the head, neck, chest or belly, St John Ambulance describes holding a haemostatic dressing firmly on the wound for at least 5 minutes; some wounds may need the dressing packed in.

Burns

From the NHS and St John Ambulance:

1. Cool it under cool running water for 20 minutes, ideally within 3 hours of the burn. No running water? Use cool bottled water or a wet towel (NHS).
2. Call 999 or go to A&E for a very large or deep burn, a burn on the face, genitals or bottom, or a burn caused by chemicals, acid or electricity (NHS). Don't drive yourself.
3. Remove jewellery, watches, belts and burnt clothing before swelling starts, but not anything stuck to the burn (St John Ambulance).
4. Cover loosely with cling film laid lengthways, not wrapped round. A clean plastic bag works for a hand or foot (St John Ambulance).
5. Don't use creams, oils, butter, plasters or sticky dressings, and don't burst blisters (NHS).
6. Don't let them get too cold. St John Ambulance warns that cooling too much can cause hypothermia, and babies and older people are most at risk.

Shock

Shock here means a dangerous drop in blood flow, often after heavy bleeding or a bad burn. It is not the same as emotional shock.

Signs (St John Ambulance): pale, cold, clammy skin; sweating; a fast, weak pulse; fast, shallow breathing; grey-blue lips; feeling sick; restlessness; yawning or gasping.

What to do (St John Ambulance):

1. Treat the cause, such as bleeding.
2. Lay them down and raise their legs on a chair. Don't raise the legs if a leg, hip or pelvis may be broken.
3. Call 999 and say you think they're in shock.
4. Loosen tight clothing at the neck, chest and waist.
5. Cover them with a coat or blanket. Reassure them: fear and pain make shock worse.
6. Keep watching. If they stop responding, be ready to start CPR.

Broken bones

From St John Ambulance:

• Call 999 for an open fracture (bone through the skin), a broken long bone such as the thigh, or a suspected broken back, neck or pelvis.
• Take off rings and watches from the injured limb.
• Bone through the skin: cover with a clean dressing and press around the wound, not on the bone.
• Keep it still: support the joints above and below, with padding.
• Don't move them until the injury is supported, unless they're in immediate danger.

Dust or something in the eye

From St John Ambulance:

• Something stuck in the eye: don't remove it. Cover the eye with a clean pad and get them to hospital or call 999.
• Dust or grit: don't rub. Tip the head back and pour clean water from the inner corner of the eye outwards. If it won't come out or hurts a lot, call NHS 111 or go to an eye casualty or A&E.

Unresponsive but breathing: recovery position

St John Ambulance says use the recovery position for someone who isn't responding but is breathing normally: roll them onto their side, top leg bent, head tilted back to keep the airway open. Keep checking their breathing. If they stay like this for 30 minutes, turn them onto the other side.

Not breathing normally: CPR

From St John Ambulance:

• Hands in the middle of the chest, arms straight.
• Push down 5 to 6 cm, at 100 to 120 a minute, letting the chest come back up each time.
• If trained, give 30 compressions then 2 rescue breaths. If not, keep doing compressions without stopping.
• Send someone for a defibrillator; the 999 call handler can say where the nearest one is.
• Keep going until help takes over, they start breathing normally, or you're too exhausted. Swap with a helper every 1 to 2 minutes.

Printable first aid card

• Danger? Fire, gas, smoke, debris, weak floors. Don't enter collapsed buildings
• Call 999 / 112 on speaker
• Bleeding: press hard, keep pressing, bandage firmly. Don't pull out objects
• Tourniquet: arm or leg only, above the wound, note the time, never loosen
• Not breathing normally: CPR, 5–6 cm deep, 100–120 a minute
• Breathing but unresponsive: recovery position, keep checking
• Burns: cool running water 20 minutes, cling film loosely, no creams
• Shock: lie down, legs up (not if a leg, hip or pelvis may be broken), warm, calm
• Broken bone: keep still, don't move unless in danger
• Eye: don't remove stuck objects; rinse dust from the inner corner
• Trapped: torch, whistle, tap on pipes; shout last

For your kit

• First aid kit with gloves
• Large wound dressings
• Burns dressing or cling film
• Foil blanket
• Torch and whistle

What we couldn't check

• No UK public guidance covers blast injuries specifically, such as ear, lung or crush injuries from an explosion. The steps above are general first aid for the injuries an explosion can cause. Ready.gov's explosion page is US advice.
• St John Ambulance's life-threatening bleed page describes haemostatic dressings and commercial tourniquets. Using them well needs training; a short course is the best way to learn.
• The NHS "first aid" page now redirects to St John Ambulance, so we cite St John Ambulance directly.

Related guides

• Home first aid kit and medicine cabinet: a UK checklist
• Smell gas? What to do, step by step
• How to turn off your gas, electricity and water
• After a house fire: a calm checklist for the first 48 hours

Free tools

• Make a household emergency plan (free)

We're an independent UK site, not the government. We check guides against official sources and link to them. In an emergency call 999.

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