EMS / Fire edition

The 5-Minute Fall Recovery Assessment for Fire & EMS

Identify where your department's fall-recovery response is prepared, and where process, equipment, crew safety, or lift-assist demand may need closer review.

5 min to complete 17 total questions 15 scored questions 0–30 exposure score
0 / 15
What does your department currently use to help lift someone from the floor? Select all that apply.
How often does your department respond to fall or lift-assist calls that do not result in transport or emergency medical treatment?

Current Process

Does your department or agency have a clear, written process for responding to lift-assist calls?

Do crews follow the same lift-assist process across shifts, stations, and call types?

Does your department track and address how non-emergency lift-assist calls affect true emergency response times?

Dispatch and On-Scene Decisions

Does dispatch gather useful information such as the person's condition, location, approximate size, access problems, and available help or equipment?

Before lifting or moving the person, do crews check for possible injury or a medical concern?

Is it clear when the person should not be moved and when crews should request more people, different equipment, medical direction, or transport?

Equipment and Responder Safety

Is appropriate lift-assist equipment available on responding units or close enough to reach the call without an unsafe delay?

Can crews bring the equipment into the homes, bathrooms, bedrooms, and tight spaces where these calls actually happen?

Is the equipment charged or otherwise ready, clean, inspected, within its weight limit, and available when needed?

Crew Readiness

When equipment is the safer option, are crews expected to use it instead of automatically lifting by hand?

Do responders receive hands-on Fall Recovery training and demonstrate they can follow the complete process, not just operate the equipment?

During recovery, do crews keep the person informed, protect their privacy, and treat them with dignity?

Demand, Learning, and Follow-Up

Does the call record show how the person was recovered, what equipment was used, who helped, the outcome, delays, and any injury or near miss?

Does your department review repeat locations, time emergency units are tied up, manual lifting, equipment not used, responder injuries, and near misses?

Does your department have a way to follow up on repeat non-emergency lift-assist demand with facilities, community partners, prevention programs, or other resources?

This is an organizational readiness screen, not a clinical protocol, compliance audit, certification, or instruction for an active incident.