Triage Kit-Essential Gear for Managing Multiple Casualties Before Help Arrives
- YEYETAC™
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
When a mass casualty incident occurs, resources are overwhelmed instantly. Without a proven system to organize the chaos, valuable medical assets are wasted on those who cannot be saved.
Triage, derived from the French word "trier" (to sort), is the standardized process of prioritizing patients based on injury severity. Using protocols like START or SALT, responders use color-coded indicators to ensure the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Why is the START protocol the global standard for mass casualty incidents?
History teaches us that emotion is the enemy of efficiency in war. If a medic stops to treat a hopeless wound, three other salvageable soldiers might die.
The START (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment) protocol serves as the international gold standard for civilian and tactical mass casualty events. It simplifies complex medical decisions into four clear categories: Red, Yellow, Green, and Black, allowing rapid processing of victims.
I want to take you back to where this started. The concept of "Triage" was introduced by Baron Dominique Jean Larrey, Napoleon’s chief surgeon. He realized that to save an army, you treat the wounded based on the urgency of their injuries, not their rank. Today, this philosophy is codified in modern standards like the NATO Standardization Agreements (STANAG) and the Joint Trauma System (JTS) Clinical Practice Guidelines.
In a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI), such as the Boston Marathon bombing or a battlefield event, responders use the START method. It removes guessing. You check respiration, perfusion, and mental status. Based on this, you assign a color.
Red (Immediate): The patient will die within minutes without help (e.g., severe bleeding, airway issues).
Yellow (Delayed): Serious injuries, but they can wait 30 minutes to an hour.
Green (Minor): The "walking wounded." They can help themselves.
Black (Expectant): The patient has died or the injuries are not survivable with current resources.
This system creates order. But knowledge is not enough. You need physical tools to visualize this knowledge. That is where the Triage Kit comes in. It turns a mental decision into a visible signal.
Why do standard markers fail when the sun goes down?
War and disasters do not stop at sunset. However, most triage equipment is designed for bright, sterile warehouses, not the dirty, dark reality of a tactical environment.
Standard black tape used for the "Deceased" category becomes invisible on dark tactical gear or in low-light conditions. This causes follow-up teams to waste critical time re-assessing bodies that have already been triaged.
This is a specific pain point I discuss often with instructors from the battlefield. In the daylight, a piece of black tape on a forehead or chest is clear. It means "move on." But let’s look at the reality of your customers. They wear Multicam Black, dark blue police uniforms, or olive drab vests.
When you put black tape on dark gear in a low-light room, it disappears. It gets worse with technology. Under Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), colors are monochromatic (green or white phosphor). Black tape on a dark vest provides zero contrast.
The Consequence:
An evacuation team enters the zone. They see a body. They do not see the black marker because of the poor lighting. They stop. They check for a pulse. They assess the airway. They realize the patient is gone. They have just wasted 60 seconds. In an MCI, those 60 seconds could have saved a "Red" patient bleeding out nearby.
This is why we innovated at YEYETAC™. We realized that color alone is not enough. We need Pattern Recognition.
How does the YEYETAC™ Triage Kit solve the chaos of deployment?
Panic causes fine motor skills to fail. A good kit must work when your hands are shaking, offering a complete system that requires no fine manipulation or extra tools.
The YEYETAC™ Triage Kit features a 4-port anti-tangle dispenser, hand-tearable non-adhesive tape, and Black/White Zebra markers for night visibility. It includes external MOLLE mounting for shears, ensuring you have the tools to cut clothes and mark patients instantly.
We designed our kit based on the feedback that "simplicity saves lives." We did not just pack four rolls of tape into a bag. We engineered a solution for chaos.
1. The 4-Port Dispenser System
In a cheap kit, tapes mix together. You pull red, and yellow comes out with it. Our pouch has four separate exit ports. You can locate them by feel. The tapes never tangle.
2. Hand-Tear
You do not need scissors to cut our markers. The tape material is strong, but tears easily by hand when ripped sideways. Furthermore, it has no adhesive glue. This means it will not stick to your gloves, the patient's hair, or wet skin. It works in rain, blood, and mud.
3. The Zebra Solution
To solve the night vision problem, we replaced the standard black tape with Black and White Zebra Tape.
Visibility: The white stripes reflect ambient light, creating high contrast against dark gear.
NVG Ready: Under night vision, the stripes are unmistakable.
Universal Warning: The pattern instinctively signals "caution" or "stop."
4. Integrated Tool Management
We added a laser-cut MOLLE loop panel on the front. You can slide your trauma shears directly into the pouch. You cut the clothes to expose the wound, treat it, and then mark the patient, all from one kit on your belt.
Conclusion
Effective triage requires speed and visibility. By using high-contrast markers and organized dispensers, you turn chaos into a manageable process. Don't let darkness hide the truth.
FAQs
Why use tape instead of triage tags?
Paper tags can tear, get soaked in blood or rain, and are hard to read from a distance. Tape is durable, visible from 360 degrees when wrapped around a limb, and withstands harsh weather.
Can I use this kit for civilian accidents?
Yes. The START protocol is used by fire departments and paramedics worldwide. This kit is perfect for car crashes, natural disasters, or industrial accidents.
Is the tape reflective?
The white portion of our Zebra tape is non-reflective to maintain tactical discipline, but it offers high contrast. We can customize reflective versions for EMS clients upon request.
Does the tape stick to wet skin?
Our tape is non-adhesive (no glue). It bonds to itself when wrapped. This means it works perfectly even if the patient is wet, bloody, or dirty, as it relies on friction and tension, not glue.
How long is each roll of tape?
Each roll is typically 50 meters long, depending on the custom configuration.
Can I refill the dispenser pouch?
Yes. The YEYETAC™ pouch is designed to be reusable. You can open it, drop in new rolls of our specific size, feed them through the ports, and you are ready to go again.
Do I need scissors to cut the tape?
No. We use a special material structure. It is very strong when you pull it straight, but if you tear it from the side, it rips easily by hand. This saves time.
Can I attach this kit to my belt?
Yes. The pouch features a standard MOLLE backing. You can attach it to a battle belt, a plate carrier, or the side of a larger medical backpack.