A few years ago we had a drill for our volunteers called "Operation Callout". we paged them to different locations based on their points of origin and instructed them to come prepared for an outdoor first aid response.
When they arrived on scene, we checked to make sure they had the appropriate attire for the weather and personal protective equipment. Once they were checked in and deemed ready to respond, we gave them a list of tasks to accomplish...treating someone for shock, completing a head to toe assessment for injury, splinting an arm and splinting a leg...there was a slight catch...we provided no supplies.
We told them they could use whatever they brought with them, could find or borrow. Truthfully..in a disaster no one is going to be following you around with and endless supply of triangle bandages and tape. So it pays to practice being resourceful.
It was a great exercise, one volunteer used kayak paddles he had in his truck, another made a great arm splint out of an old license plate she was about to return to the DMV. Another team tore apart old yellow pages that were on a recycling pile and rolled them up for short sturdy splinting materials. When the drill was over quite a few volunteers decided to add a flattened cardboard box and a roll of duct tape to list of things to always have in the trunk ... They don't take up a lot of space and can be used for a variety of purposes including first aid.
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