When It Really Happens: Writing about a First Aid Emergency, and a Project on First Responders and Community Guardians

25 min

Let's begin

After an emergency, someone always asks: What exactly happened? What was done, and when? Could it have been prevented? A clear written account answers those questions for the school, the health centre or the family, and it helps stop the same accident happening again. In this lesson you write an incident report about a first aid emergency, using every language tool from this unit and Unit 3. Then you begin the unit project on the people who respond when things go wrong: first responders and community guardians.

The parts of an incident report

Part	What it contains	Language
Heading details	Date, time, place, the casualty, the writer	notes, not sentences
What happened	The accident, in order, with times	past simple and past continuous; sequencing
First aid given	Each action, who did it and for how long	past simple, often passive (was cooled, was called)
Outcome	What happened to the casualty afterwards	past simple; reported speech (the nurse said that …)
Recommendations	How to stop it happening again	should, must, need to; imperatives

A model incident report

Written by Ganzaa. The school, people and events are imagined; the first aid follows the guidance in Lessons 1 and 2.

INCIDENT REPORT
Date: Wednesday 14 October 2026 · Time: about 12.40 · Place: school kitchen
Casualty: Mrs Mukamana, kitchen assistant · Report written by: Ishimwe Grace, S4, school first aid team

What happened. At about 12.40, Mrs Mukamana was lifting a large pan of boiling water off the stove when the handle slipped. Hot water splashed onto her left forearm. A student who was collecting plates shouted for help, and I arrived from the dining hall less than a minute later.

First aid given. First, I checked that the stove had been turned off and that the floor was not wet, so that nobody else could be hurt. Mrs Mukamana was then helped to the sink, and her forearm was held under cool running water from the tap. I timed the cooling on my phone: it continued for twenty minutes. Meanwhile, another team member removed her bracelet before her arm could swell. When the cooling had finished, the burn was covered loosely with cling film from the first aid kit, and she was kept warm with a jacket. Because the burn was larger than her hand, the school nurse was called, and she was taken to the health centre at 13.15.

Outcome. The next day the nurse told us that the health centre had dressed the burn and that Mrs Mukamana was expected to recover fully. She thanked the team and said that the cooling had eased the pain quickly.

Recommendations. The handles of the large pans should be checked and repaired. Kitchen staff must not carry pans of boiling water alone. The first aid kit needs a new roll of cling film. Finally, the kitchen staff should be offered a first aid course.

Signed: Ishimwe Grace

Questions on the model

Why does the report begin with notes rather than sentences?
Find a past continuous verb in "What happened". Why is it used?
Find three passive verbs in "First aid given". Why are they suitable here?
Which sentence in "Outcome" uses reported speech? Rewrite it as direct speech.
Which recommendation is the strongest, and how does the grammar show it?

Show answersHide answers

So that the reader can find the key facts (date, time, place, people) at a glance.
was lifting: the background action that was in progress when the handle slipped.
Any three: was helped, was held, was covered, was kept, was called, was taken. The actions matter more than who did them, and the casualty stays at the centre of the report.
"The next day the nurse told us that the health centre had dressed the burn and that Mrs Mukamana was expected to recover fully." Direct: "The health centre has dressed the burn, and Mrs Mukamana is expected to recover fully."
Kitchen staff must not carry pans of boiling water alone: must not expresses prohibition, stronger than should.

Worked example

From notes to a paragraph: "First aid given"

Ishimwe's notes: 12.41 checked stove off, floor dry · arm under tap · timed 20 min · bracelet off (Keza) · cling film · jacket · burn bigger than hand → nurse · 13.15 to health centre.

Keep the order of the notes and add sequencing words: First, … then … Meanwhile, … When … had finished, …
Choose active or passive. Use the active for what you checked (I checked); use the passive for actions on the casualty (her forearm was held under cool running water).
Give exact figures: times and the twenty minutes of cooling, because a health worker may need them.
Explain the decision: Because the burn was larger than her hand, the school nurse was called. A report says why, not only what.

Warning

Facts, not drama. Not It was the most terrible scream I have ever heard! but She called out, and a student shouted for help.
Don't guess. If you did not see something, say so: I did not see how the pan slipped.
Respect privacy. A report goes only to the people who need it, and it never describes a casualty's injuries in more detail than necessary.
Times and dates in full: 14 October 2026, at about 12.40.

Tip

Write it the same day. Memory changes quickly. Jot down times and actions as soon as the emergency is over, while they are fresh, then turn your notes into the report.

Project: first responders and community guardians

Who helps when something goes wrong in your community? In groups, research one of these and present it to the class. Together, the class will make a "Who helps us?" poster for the school.

Group	Topic	Facts to start from
1	The ambulance service	912 is Rwanda's free ambulance line, answered 24 hours a day by a central dispatch centre.
2	The police emergency line	112 is the number for all emergencies; 113 is for traffic accidents.
3	Red Cross volunteers	The Rwanda Red Cross Society reports over 62,000 members and active volunteers, 30 district committees and 416 sector committees; its work includes first aid services and first aid training.
4	Community health workers	Every village elects community health workers; on 25 August 2018 a fourth was added, so each village now has four. They treat malaria and diarrhoea, give advice on nutrition and hygiene, and follow up pregnant women.
5	Our school	Who gives first aid at your school? Where is the first aid kit, and what is in it?

Each group should: (1) check its facts against a reliable source and list it; (2) interview one person who does the work, if possible (use the interview skills from Unit 3), and report what they said; (3) produce a short profile of 150–200 words; and (4) present it in three minutes, with one piece of first aid advice for the class.

Criterion	3 marks	2 marks	1 mark
Accuracy and sources	All facts correct and sourced	Most facts sourced	Facts unsourced or wrong
Language	Reported speech, modals and tenses correct	A few errors	Many errors
First aid advice	Correct, clear, follows current guidance	Mostly correct	Unclear or unsafe
Presentation	Confident, on time, answers questions	Some hesitation	Read from notes

✦

Practice

Put the parts of an incident report in order: recommendations; what happened; heading details; outcome; first aid given.
Rewrite in the passive: (a) We held her hand under the tap. (b) The nurse called an ambulance. (c) Someone removed his ring.
Rewrite in a factual, report style: (a) "There was blood absolutely everywhere and I nearly fainted!" (b) "I think maybe he might have tripped over something, probably."
Report what was said: (a) The nurse said, "He must rest for two days." (b) The casualty said, "The cooling helped a lot."
Write two recommendations for each situation, one with should and one with must or mustn't: (a) a student slipped on a wet floor; (b) a student cut her hand on a broken window.
Write an incident report of 200–250 words about one of these imagined emergencies, using the five parts: a nosebleed in the library; a student who fainted at assembly; a scald in a boarding-school dining hall.

Show answersHide answers

Heading details; what happened; first aid given; outcome; recommendations.
(a) Her hand was held under the tap. (b) An ambulance was called by the nurse. (c) His ring was removed.
Models: (a) The wound was bleeding heavily. (b) I did not see how he fell; he may have tripped.
(a) The nurse said that he had to rest (or must rest) for two days. (b) The casualty said that the cooling had helped a lot.
Models: (a) Wet floors should be marked with a warning sign. Students mustn't run in the corridors. (b) The broken window should be repaired at once. Students must report broken glass to a teacher immediately.
Answers will vary. Check the five parts, accurate first aid, past tenses, passives and recommendations.

Quick check

Put the parts of an incident report in order.

Tap the cards in the right order.

Key points

An incident report: heading details, what happened, first aid given, outcome, recommendations.
Write facts in order, with times and figures; use past tenses, the passive for actions on the casualty, reported speech for what people said, and modals for recommendations.
No drama, no guesses, and respect the casualty's privacy.
First responders and community guardians include the 912 ambulance service, the 112 police line, Red Cross volunteers, community health workers and your school's own first aiders.

1The parts of an incident report

2A model incident report

3Questions on the model

4Project: first responders and community guardians

The parts of an incident report

A model incident report

Questions on the model

Project: first responders and community guardians