An emergency is a situation that requires immediate attention.
The Latin word emergens came to Spanish as emergency . The first meaning mentioned in the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) refers to the act and result of emerging (breaking in, sprouting).
The most common use of the term refers to an accident or event that occurs abruptly and generally requires some type of action to avoid or minimize damage.
For example: “Emergency in the downtown area: a huge gas leak forced thousands of people to evacuate” , “The explosion of an engine caused an emergency in the mechanical workshop” , “Last night, at the hospital, I had to attend to four emergencies.”
Emergency concept
An emergency, in short, is an event that requires immediate attention since it implies a completed or potential disaster . A building about to collapse with people inside constitutes an emergency: if rescuers do not act quickly and the structure collapses, there may be deaths and injuries. A fire that breaks out in a forest, on the other hand, is also an emergency because, as the fire progresses, the greater the damage it causes.
Of course, the term emergency has many subjective applications, which deviate from the purest definition and respond to situations that only for some people can be considered serious. For example, if an electrical fault occurs in a hospital and affects the course of several surgical operations, the entire town will probably consider it an emergency, while if the problem occurs in a software development company, this will be relevant to its workers and executives.
On the other hand, it is also possible to use this word in an exaggerated way, in situations that are not really serious even for the sender or that are absurd for the interlocutor: for example, if someone labels as an "emergency" the fact of having forgotten Pack your favorite shirt before getting on the plane.
A fire is an emergency that requires the intervention of firefighters.
The emergentology
Medical assistance that must be provided urgently to a person whose life is at risk is known as emergency medicine or emergentology . In hospitals, there are sectors dedicated especially to this type of care.
Suppose a man is shot in the head in the middle of a street robbery and falls seriously injured. Said victim needs to access emergency medical care to avoid dying. The neighbors, observing the situation, call an ambulance to take him to the hospital without wasting time.
Emergency response in a public space
In the event of an emergency in a public space, there are certain measures to take into account to resolve the situation or get out of danger . Let's look at some of them below:
* stay calm. No matter what is happening, if we allow our nerves to control us the situation will worsen, which is why we must act focused on a potential solution;
* respect others. This is related to the previous point, since to give everyone the same opportunities to save themselves we must act calmly , without hindering the plans of others;
* take advantage of our knowledge to help others. Doctors are the ones who can do the most in the event of a catastrophe involving injuries, but there is much knowledge and discipline that can be useful in the midst of an emergency;
* Identify the solution we want to implement, or the exit we want to reach, before taking the first step. Moving aimlessly in the middle of a terrified crowd will get us nowhere, and may even put us in danger;
* If we find ourselves with an injured person and we don't know what to do, it is preferable to get the assistance of someone with the appropriate knowledge.