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Casualty Movement

Never underestimate the power of an improvised litter to make moving casualties easier. This technique works best in residential structures because in many commercial buildings, the carpet is not "wall to wall" but rather individual squares,

Carpet to improvised litter in 60-seconds

  • Posted by Mike Shertz MD/18D
  • Categories Casualty Movement, Improvised

Never underestimate the power of an improvised litter to make moving casualties easier.

🕖 Reading Time, 1 minute

Carrying casualties is hard work. Never underestimate the power of an improvised litter to make moving casualties easier. By cutting the carpet around the casualty, leaving enough room at the head and feet for either rolling the carpet on itself or, as here, cutting hand holds in it, a casualty can be drug by one rescuer, or carried by two rescuers.

This technique works best in residential structures because in many commercial buildings, the carpet is not “wall to wall” but rather individual squares, to allow for easy replacement so this technique will not work there. The entire process takes less than a minute but will significantly dull your pocket knife. 

(Also, never leave a training building without fully exploiting it.)*this video was taken during an in-person Crisis Medicine Tactical Casualty Care course

Mike Shertz MD/18D

Dr. Mike Shertz is the Owner and Lead Instructor at Crisis Medicine. Dr. Shertz is a dual-boarded Emergency Medicine and EMS physician, having spent over 30 years gaining the experience and insight to create and provide his comprehensive, science-informed, training to better prepare everyday citizens, law enforcement, EMS, and the military to manage casualties and wounded in high-risk environments. Drawing on his prior experience as an Army Special Forces medic (18D), two decades as an armed, embedded tactical medic on a regional SWAT team, and as a Fire Service and EMS medical director.

Using a combination of current and historical events, Dr. Shertz’s lectures include relevant, illustrative photos, as well as hands-on demonstrations to demystify the how, why, when to use each emergency medical procedure you need to become a Force Multiplier for Good.

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