The UC Davis Fire Department is taking the next step in proactive prevention by making Stop the Bleed kits available for on campus departments and highlighting the importance of being prepared for bleeding control.  

Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death from trauma. Having access to the supplies and instructions can make a life-saving difference, following a bicycle accident, lab injury or an active shooter.  Placing the stop the bleed kits around campus is part of the UCDFD’s initiative to empower the general public to take action as immediate responders in stopping life-threatening bleeding.  

“When we look at our demographic here on campus, the number one killer for under 45-year-old's is hemorrhagic bleeds or someone who bleeds out, so if we can go out and teach people how to stop bleeding, we will hopefully prevent deaths,” Scott Hatcher, EMS Captain said.  

The first kit was placed in the lobby of the UCDFD. The department plans to identify the top ten trafficked areas on campus and work with safety officers in those areas to get kits installed, which also comes with Stop the Bleed training for up to 30 people. 

The kits are compact, vacuum-sealed and provide intuitive and easy-to-use tools for the public. Each kit includes bandages, gauze, tourniquets and hemostatic dressings that can be utilized to control bleeding until a first-responder arrives. 

Stop the Bleed trainings are accessible to the campus community and are held on the first Tuesday of each month and are only an hour long. Through the training participants will receive a training booklet and certification card.  

“It’s important for us as a campus to embrace this training, to learn how to use this equipment, and to get out there and make sure that if anything does happen, we do take the initiative to really help and to save someone’s life. The biggest thing that I want to get out there is how important this training really is and if it’s ever needed it really is one of those things that will make a difference in someone’s life,” said Hatcher. 

More About the UCDFD’s Bleeding Control Program: 

 In addition to the kits on campus, the UCDFD also has a trailer with enough bleeding control supplies for up to 150 people. The trailer is essential to the campus being prepared as possible in case of an active shooter event.  

“When you go back to research around active shooters, one of the things they never have is enough supplies on hand, quick enough. Now, we can hook our trailer up to the back of a pickup truck and we can drive it onto the scene and have resources immediately on scene and quicker than other agencies can bring us the supplies,” said Hatcher.