1. Wilderness First Aid Slideshow Template
The following Slideshow is a Bare Bones template which covers the minimum information set by the 2010 WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines.
This slideshow version was intended to be used as a minimalist alternative to our standard slideshow and can be used as a template for building a new slideshow to better suit the the instructor’s lecturing style.
Version 1 May 2018

2. Lightning Elective Class 10 min Elective Class Skip
BSA WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
Page(s) 33
ECSI Wilderness First Aid Field Guide
Page(s) 19-23
ARC WRFA Emergency Reference Guide
Page(s) 62

3. Lightning
Objectives
Describe how lightning can cause injury and/or death.
Describe the emergency treatment of and long-term care for lightning-induced injuries including respiratory arrest and cardiac arrest.
Describe the prevention of a lightning-induced injury and/or death.
Describe situations that would require an evacuation versus a rapid evacuation.
Participants can read Course Objectives at home.
Prior to lecturing, instructors should review the most up to date Wilderness & Environmental Medicine (WEM) guidelines related to their talk:
Prevention and Treatment of Lightning Injuries: 2014 Update December 2014
Resource: NOLS Lightning Safety
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
Davis C, Engeln A, Johnson EL, McIntosh SE, Zafren K, Islas AA, McStay C, Smith WR, Cushing T; Wilderness Medical Society. Wilderness Medical Society practice guidelines for the prevention and treatment of lightning injuries: 2014 update. Wilderness Environ Med Dec;25(4 Suppl):S86-95.

4. Lightning How Lightning causes Injury or Death
Lightning can produce several types of injuries, including
Neurological problems - loss of responsiveness, paralysis, or seizures
Burns, typically superficial and feathery or fern-like
Cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest
Blindness, often temporary
Deafness, often temporary
Trauma from being thrown
[Read Slide]
Back to the Future
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

5. Lightning Lightening - Emergency treatment and long-term care
Note: Scene Safety - lightning can strike twice in the same place
Begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately if needed
Treat any injuries as needed
Be ready to treat secondary issues (e.g., hypothermia in a wet, injured person)
[Read Slide]
UpToDate environmental-and-weapon-related-electrical-injuries
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

6. Lightning Lightening – Preventing Injuries
Know local weather patterns. Lightning storms, in general, tend to roll in quickly in the afternoons of summer months.
Plan turnaround times (the amount of time you need to get back) in lightning-prone areas. Stick to the plan.
Plot storms using the following method:
5 seconds flash to boom = storm ~1 mile away.
Follow the rule:
30 seconds flash to boom = storm ~6 mile away.
Seek a safe location 30 minutes after the storm passes.
Find a safe spot
[Read Slide]
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

7. Lightning Lightening – Find a Safe Spot. Move downhill
DO NOT stay in a meadow or any other wide-open space
Seek uniform cover (e.g., low rolling hills or trees of about the same size)
Take shelter in a steel-framed building or a hard-topped motor vehicle. Keep the windows of the vehicle rolled up
If you are boating or swimming, get to land and move away from the shore
[Read Slide]
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

8. Lightning Lightening – Find a Safe Spot – Things to Avoid
AVOID all of the following:
High places
High objects (such as tall trees)
Open places
Damp , shallow caves and tunnels (deep dry cave are OK)
Overhangs
Flood zones
Places obviously struck by lightning in the past
Long conductors (such as fences)
Metal
Anything connected to electrical power (landline phones too)
[Read Slide]
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

9. Lightning Lightening - Safe Position
[Explain]
Lightening – Assume a Safe Position when Outdoors
To assume a safe position when outdoors:
Squat or sit in a tight body position on insulating material (e.g., sleeping pad, life jacket)
Take off any metal-framed packs and toss hiking poles away from the group
Do not lie down. Nearby lightning strike can pass → your body.
If you feel your hair stand on end or your skin get tingly, cover your ears with your hands, close your eyes and get your head close to your knees
Spread groups out wide with ~100 feet or more between individuals
Keep everyone in sight if possible
100 feet
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

10. Lightning Lightening - Evac
Rapid Evac anyone who has been struck by lightning
Even if the person seems to have recovered soon after the injury, serious problems can develop later so you must still evacuate rapidly
[Read Slide]
UpToDate environmental-and-weapon-related-electrical-injuries
WFA Curriculum and Doctrine Guidelines
ARC Wilderness and Remote First Aid Emergency Reference Guide

11. Lightning Questions pexels.com 110059
Chief Seattle Troop 738 Camp Jamboree 2005
pexels.com