Guides

Burns and smoke in heating season

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Oct 19, 2026Heating Season Is Here: Burns and Smoke at HomeFurnaces, space heaters, fireplaces and candles all come back on in October. The fire and burn risks that come with them, and what this week covers.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Oct 21, 2026Smoke Inhalation: Why the Smoke Is the Real DangerIn a house fire the smoke usually reaches people before the flames do. What smoke does to the body, how to get out, and the signs that still need a hospital.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Oct 22, 2026Cooling a Burn: How Long, How Cold, and Why It MattersCool running water, for longer than most people think, and never ice or butter. Why cooling works, what to put on a burn afterwards, and which burns need 911.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Oct 24, 2026Test Your Smoke Alarms and Make a Two-Minute Escape PlanA short weekend job: test every smoke alarm, check how old it is, and agree with everyone at home on how you get out and where you meet.

CPR and AEDs

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Oct 12, 2026Restart a Heart: Why the Bystander Decides Who SurvivesAbout 40,000 Canadians have a cardiac arrest outside hospital each year and most do not survive. Why the person nearby matters more than the ambulance.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Oct 14, 2026Using an AED: What the Machine Does and What You DoAn AED talks you through every step and decides for itself whether a shock is needed. What happens when you open one, and the situations people worry about.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Oct 15, 2026CPR Depth, Rate and Recoil: Why the Numbers MatterAt least 5 cm deep, 100 to 120 a minute, and a full release every time. What each number does inside the chest, and why tired rescuers drift off all three.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Oct 17, 2026Find the Nearest AED Before You Need OneA defibrillator only helps if someone knows where it is. A ten-minute weekend job: find the AEDs closest to where you live, work and play, and check them.

The first minute of an emergency

3 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 3. Overview. Oct 5, 2026The First Minute of an Emergency Decides More Than You ThinkMost of what goes right or wrong at an emergency happens before anyone touches the patient. What the first minute asks of you, and what this week covers.
• Part 2 of 3. Clinical answer. Oct 8, 2026Gasping Is Not Breathing: How to Recognise Cardiac ArrestA person whose heart has stopped often keeps gasping for a while, and it fools people into waiting. How to tell normal breathing from the kind that means CPR.
• Part 3 of 3. Quick save. Oct 10, 2026Check, Call, Care: What the Three Steps Actually MeanCheck, Call, Care is the emergency action framework taught in Canadian first aid. What each step really asks of you, in order, and why the order is the point.

Heart attack and stroke

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Sep 28, 2026Heart Attack and Stroke: The First Ten MinutesTwo emergencies where the first ten minutes belong to whoever is in the room. What actually helps, and the delays that cost the most.
• Part 2 of 4. Clinical answer. Oct 1, 2026Stroke Is a Clock: Why Last Known Well MattersLast known well is the first question the hospital asks. What happens to brain tissue during the delay, and why the answer decides the treatment.
• Part 3 of 4. Quick save. Oct 3, 2026What to Say When You Call 911 for Chest Pain or StrokeDispatchers work to a script. Give them the information in the order they need it and the ambulance moves sooner. Here is that order.
• Part 4 of 4. In depth. Oct 7, 2026A Heart Attack Rarely Looks Like It Does on TVThe clutch-the-chest picture misses a lot of real heart attacks. What the pattern actually looks like, and who tends to present quietly.

Industrial and site response

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Sep 21, 2026Being the Site Responder Is a Different JobOn a work site, the person with the first aid ticket also runs the scene. That is a separate skill, and this week is about it.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Sep 23, 2026What a Usable Incident Record ContainsThe report you write after an incident protects the patient and you. Here is what belongs in it, and what to leave out.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Sep 24, 2026When Oxygen Helps, and When It Does NotOxygen is not a general-purpose treatment. Here is the reasoning behind reaching for it, and the cases where it changes nothing.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Sep 26, 2026The Five-Minute Check That Finds the Empty CylinderA short routine for a site response kit that catches the failures you would otherwise discover with a patient in front of you.

Working alone and far from help

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Sep 14, 2026When Help Is Hours Away, Not MinutesStandard first aid assumes an ambulance is coming soon. Here is what actually changes when the nearest help is a long way off.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Sep 16, 2026Improvising First Aid, or Just HopingAnything can be a splint until it has to work. The test that separates real improvisation from wishful thinking, and how to practise it.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Sep 17, 2026Why Cold Makes a Simple Injury SeriousCold is rarely the emergency you set out to treat. It is often the one that makes everything else worse. Here is the reasoning, and why you treat it early.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Sep 19, 2026The Ten Minute Trip Plan That Finds YouA rescue starts when someone notices you are late. Ten minutes of writing before you leave decides how long that takes, and where they look.

Your certificate and your job

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Sep 7, 2026What Your Employer Means When They Say First AidEmployers ask for first aid in a dozen different phrasings. Here is how to turn a vague requirement into the right booking.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Sep 9, 2026How to Read the First Aid Line in a Job PostingWhat the phrases in a posting actually mean, who to email when they mean nothing, and why you want the answer in writing before you pay.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Sep 10, 2026What a Workplace First Aider Is Actually Expected to DoThe duty is narrower and heavier than most people expect. What it involves in the first ten minutes, and why it decides which certificate you need.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Sep 12, 2026Getting Your Employer to Pay for Your First AidPlenty of employers will pay, and most people never ask. What to ask for, when to ask, and the group booking angle almost nobody raises.

Back to school, childcare and babysitting

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Aug 31, 2026September Is When Families Find Out They Need a CertificateSeptember brings a rush of childcare and babysitting certificate requests. Here is what this week covers, and the age rules that catch people out.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Sep 2, 2026Child Care First Aid Versus the Babysitter CourseTwo courses, two different students, and a job posting that names neither. How to tell which certificate your employer actually wants.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Sep 3, 2026Why Child and Infant CPR Is Not Adult CPR Made SmallerMost adult cardiac arrests start with the heart. Most in children start with breathing, and nearly every difference in pediatric CPR follows from that.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Sep 5, 2026The Five Minute Talk to Have Before You Leave a SitterA new babysitter needs five minutes of specific information before you walk out. Here is the list, in the order that matters most.

Getting into EMS

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Aug 24, 2026Where EMR Fits on the Road Into EMSEMR is a real credential and a common first step, but it is not a paramedic licence in Alberta. Read the caveat before you spend the money.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Aug 26, 2026The EMR Entry Requirement Nobody Plans ForEMR asks for Intermediate First Aid with CPR-C, current on day one. Here is how to sequence the two courses without losing a month.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Aug 27, 2026Patient Assessment Is the Skill EMS Hires ForKnowing more conditions does not make you useful. A repeatable assessment does, and here is the reasoning behind the order it runs in.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Aug 29, 2026Three Habits to Build Before Your First EMS CourseFrom someone who marks the practicals: three things worth practising now that will make your first responder course much easier.

Bleeding you cannot ignore

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Aug 17, 2026How to Tell Serious Bleeding From the RestMost bleeding stops on its own. This week is about the bleeding that will not, and what changes the moment it turns out to be arterial.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Aug 19, 2026Direct Pressure: How Hard, and For How LongMost people press in roughly the right place, too gently, and let go too soon. Here is how direct pressure is done, and what to do when it soaks through.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Aug 20, 2026Why a Tourniquet Is Not a Last ResortThe old advice was that a tourniquet costs a limb. Battlefield data changed that. Here is why, and where the tourniquet goes.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Aug 22, 2026What a Real Bleeding Kit NeedsThe green box in the cupboard is built for paper cuts. Here is what a kit for serious bleeding contains, and why each item earns its place.

Choking and the airway

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Aug 10, 2026Choking: The Emergency Nobody RehearsesChoking is the emergency people fear most and practise least. What this week covers, and why twenty minutes of reading is a good trade.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Aug 12, 2026Partial Versus Complete Choking: The First Three SecondsA partly blocked airway and a completely blocked one need opposite responses. How to tell them apart in the first three seconds.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Aug 13, 2026How Back Blows and Abdominal Thrusts Actually WorkThe pressure mechanism behind back blows and abdominal thrusts, why you alternate them, and why you keep going after the casualty collapses.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Aug 15, 2026Choking Infants: The One Thing You ChangeFor a choking infant you change one thing, and the reason is anatomical. Back blows first, then chest compressions, and why size changes the technique.

Certificates, expiry and renewal

4 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 4. Overview. Aug 3, 2026Your First Aid Certificate Expired. Now What?Recertification is shorter and cheaper than the full course, but only if you catch it in time. Here is how the timing works.
• Part 2 of 4. In depth. Aug 5, 2026How First Aid Recertification Actually WorksA recert is shorter and cheaper than the full course, but only while your card is current. How the window works, and how to read the dates on your card.
• Part 3 of 4. Clinical answer. Aug 6, 2026Why Your CPR Expires Before Your Certificate DoesThe CPR component often runs on a shorter clock than the certificate that contains it. Why the two differ, and how to tell which one governs you.
• Part 4 of 4. Quick save. Aug 8, 2026Set a Ninety Day Reminder Before Your Card ExpiresA two minute job that keeps the cheaper renewal available: set a reminder ninety days before your card expires, and put the right details in it.

When someone collapses

• Clinical answer. Jul 30, 2026Why Pausing Chest Compressions Costs More Than You ThinkThe clinical answer is push hard, push fast, and stop for as little as possible. Here is the reasoning, and why the pause is the expensive part.

Booking the right first aid course

3 parts, read in order

• Part 1 of 3. Overview. Jul 20, 2026Standard First Aid Is Now Called Intermediate First AidThe Canadian Red Cross renamed Standard First Aid to Intermediate First Aid in 2025. Your certificate is still valid. Here is what actually changed.
• Part 2 of 3. In depth. Jul 22, 2026Which First Aid Course Does Your Job Actually Need?Most people book the wrong level because a job posting was vague. Here is how to read the requirement before you spend money on a course.
• Part 3 of 3. Quick save. Jul 25, 2026What to Bring to a First Aid Course in CalgaryWhat to wear, what to bring, what happens on the day, and the one detail people get wrong that delays their certificate.