CERT Triage Tape
colors and meaning
CERT teams are trained to tie a ribbon on the arm or limb of a victim after
triage so that others can easily identify their status later. You have to be aware
that the status can change very quickly (for example when you come back a yellow
may have changed to red.) This is just intended to help sort out the victims so
they can be moved to triage areas, especially those who have life threatening
injuries and need immediate help. When you tie a ribbon on a person's limb, be
sure you do not tie it so tight that it becomes a tourniquet When you tie the
ribbon on then tear a little piece of it off and put it in your pouch so when
you get done you know how many people of each status you have dealt with. you
should also keep careful notes in on your incident response form or in your notebook
as to where they are so you can find them later when professional emergency response
teams arrive. Note: many of the local fire and rescue departments
actually write the status of the victim on their cheek or forehead with a marker.
So someone needing immediate attention would have a R - 1 on their head and the
second victim would have a R-2 etc etc. That way they know how many victims they
have in each category.
Back
to CERT Main Page
