What is triage in SAR and when is it performed?

• A. The process of prioritizing medical treatment and extraction based on injury severity and survivability; performed on-site as soon as possible.
• B. Sorting victims by age.
• C. Determining medical liability.
• D. Assigning victims to teams.

Answer: (A)

Triage in SAR is the rapid on-site sorting of victims to decide who needs immediate medical attention and/or extraction first, based on injury severity and the likelihood of survival given the current conditions and resources. This quick decision-making happens right at the scene as responders arrive and is frequently reassessed as the situation changes, so priorities can shift with new information or available assets.

This approach ensures those with life-threatening injuries who can benefit from rapid intervention are addressed first, while less-severe cases wait their turn and, in extreme cases, victims with injuries unlikely to be saved with available resources may be deprioritized for extraction.

It isn’t about sorting by age, determining medical liability, or simply assigning people to teams, which are different tasks and not the decision-making process used to allocate urgent medical care and extraction priority.