First Five Minutes of an Emergency: Safe Bystander Actions in India

This is a general guide, not a promise that every emergency has the same “golden hour” or that every condition can wait five minutes. The useful first move is to make the scene safe, call for help early, and take only the action that fits the person’s condition. If the scene is unsafe, stay back and tell responders what you can see.

Start with scene safety and a call

Look for traffic, fire, smoke, electricity, unstable structures, water or chemicals before approaching. Do not become another casualty. Shout for help. In India, call 112 for an emergency; tell the operator the exact location or landmark, what happened, how many people need help and whether the scene is hazardous. Put the phone on speaker and follow the operator’s instructions. Ask another person to fetch an AED or first-aid kit if available.

If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally

If an adult does not respond and is not breathing or is only gasping, treat this as possible cardiac arrest. Call 112, ask for an AED and begin chest compressions in the centre of the chest. Do not delay CPR while a lay bystander tries to find a pulse. Push hard and fast, allow the chest to rise between compressions, and follow the AED’s spoken prompts as soon as it arrives. If you are trained and willing to give breaths, follow your CPR training; otherwise continue chest compressions. Continue until trained responders take over, the person clearly shows signs of life, you are exhausted, or the scene becomes unsafe. Guidance for children, drowning and other special situations differs; follow the emergency operator and your training.

If there is severe external bleeding

Call 112. If safe, use gloves or another barrier and press firmly and continuously directly on the wound with a clean dressing or cloth. Keep pressure on while help is coming. Do not pull out an embedded object; press around it instead. A tourniquet or wound packing is for the appropriate injury and someone trained to use it. Watch for changes in breathing and responsiveness.

If there is a thermal burn

Move the person away from the heat source if it is safe. Cool the burned area under cool running tap water for 20 minutes; keep the rest of the person warm. Remove jewellery and loose clothing near the burn, but never pull away material stuck to the skin. After cooling, cover the burn loosely with a clean non-fluffy dressing or cling film; do not wrap a limb tightly or use ice, butter, oil or toothpaste. Seek urgent medical help for a large or deep burn, a burn to the face or hands, smoke inhalation, or any concern about a child. Chemical and electrical burns require hazard-specific care and urgent assessment.

If the person is conscious but has another serious symptom

Chest pain, sudden facial droop or speech difficulty, severe breathing trouble, a seizure, or a major injury still needs an early emergency call. Do not give food, drink or unprescribed medicine. Keep the person as comfortable and safe as possible while following the operator’s advice. Avoid moving someone with possible head, neck or spine injury unless staying there is dangerous.

If you help at a road crash: your position under Indian law

Many people hold back at a crash because they fear the police, the hospital or the courts. The law now speaks to that fear. This is general information, not legal advice.

• You are protected for acting in good faith. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 added Section 134A, and Good Samaritan rules notified on 29 September 2020 protect a person who gives reasonable help to a road accident victim. The Supreme Court had already ordered the Centre’s Good Samaritan guidelines to be followed in 2016, and they say a bystander has no civil or criminal liability for helping.
• You need not give your name. Under those guidelines a bystander who phones the police or an emergency service does not have to give a name or personal details, and sharing contact details is voluntary, even on the medico-legal form. Police may not force you to become a witness. If you do agree, the questioning is meant to be respectful, in one sitting, and at a place and time that suit you.
• A hospital cannot hold you back. The guidelines say a hospital may not detain a bystander or ask for registration or admission payment, and the injured person must still be treated at once. Hospitals are meant to display a notice saying so. On request, a hospital should give you an acknowledgement that you brought the person in.
• A doctor must act. The guidelines treat a doctor’s failure to respond in a road accident emergency as professional misconduct.

These protections help the helper. They do not change the legal position of a driver who caused the crash.

Money matters that remove one more reason to wait

• Cashless first week. Since 5 May 2025 a scheme has covered treatment of road crash victims at designated hospitals, up to ₹1.5 lakh for each victim for a maximum of seven days. Other hospitals only stabilise the patient. See what road crashes cost India and where the scheme fits.
• Rah-Veer reward. A revised Rah-Veer scheme announced on 21 April 2025 gives ₹25,000 per incident to a person who saves the life of a serious road accident victim by giving immediate help and getting the person to hospital within the golden hour. If several people help one victim, the sum is shared. One report said the scheme would run till 31 March 2026, so check with the Road Transport Ministry or your state transport department whether it continues.

For the road-crash version of this advice, with detail on moving a victim and what to tell the police, read what to do at a road accident in India and road accident first aid before the ambulance arrives. The basics of CPR, bleeding and burns are in our basic first aid guide, and the numbers to call are in emergency numbers in India.

What not to assume

There is no verified single percentage of “preventable emergency deaths” across fires, road injuries, stroke and cardiac arrest, and no universal survival loss per minute for all of them. Ambulance arrival times vary by place and situation. This guide replaces those unsupported claims with practical first steps. Learning CPR and first aid from a qualified instructor is more useful than memorising a slogan.

Before an emergency happens

Save 112, know the address and landmarks of your home or workplace, check that exits are usable, and ask where the nearest AED and first-aid kit are located. Practise a recognised CPR/first-aid course. Review this advice when official guidance changes.

Reviewed 6 October 2026. Sources: American Heart Association 2025 Adult Basic Life Support; American Red Cross life-threatening bleeding guidance; Queen Victoria Hospital NHS burns first aid; India Ministry of Home Affairs Emergency Response Support System. This article provides general information and is not a substitute for emergency services or hands-on training.