First Aid, CPR & AED for the Marine Workplace — Marine Engine / Outboard

Objective. Students will perform adult, child, and infant CPR, operate an AED, and manage marine-specific emergencies including electric shock, fuel burn, and carbon monoxide exposure to the skill standard required for accredited first aid/CPR/AED certification.

Why First Aid, CPR, and AED Training Belongs in Marine Tech

A marine shop is not a typical workplace. Technicians work around gasoline fumes, pressurized fuel lines, shore-power connections, running engines in enclosed test bays, and cold or open water. Any one of these hazards can produce a life-threatening emergency in seconds. Bystander CPR and early defibrillation are the two interventions most likely to keep a victim alive until Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrives. As a marine technician, you may be the most trained person on scene.

This lesson prepares you to earn an accredited first aid/CPR/AED provider card and to apply those skills to the specific emergencies common in a marine service environment.

High-Quality CPR: What the Evidence Requires

Accredited provider programs base their CPR standards on guidance from organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA). High-quality CPR has several measurable components:

Compression rate: Push at a rate within the range specified by your provider curriculum (generally around 100–120 compressions per minute for adults).
Compression depth: Compress to the depth specified for each age group—deeper for adults, shallower for children, and shallower still for infants.
Full chest recoil: Let the chest rise completely between compressions. Leaning on the chest reduces blood return to the heart.
Minimize interruptions: Pause compressions only for essential steps (breaths, AED analysis). Keep pauses short.
Avoid excessive ventilation: Over-breathing raises intrathoracic pressure and reduces blood flow.

For infants, use two fingers or the two-thumb encircling technique. For children, use one or two hands depending on the child's size. The CPR feedback devices used in this class give you real-time audio or visual signals so you can self-correct during practice.

The AED: Purpose and Operation

An automated external defibrillator (AED) analyzes the heart's rhythm and delivers an electrical shock if it detects a shockable rhythm such as ventricular fibrillation. Time is critical: the chance of survival drops significantly for every minute defibrillation is delayed.

General AED steps (follow your specific device's audio prompts):

1. Power on the device.

2. Attach electrode pads to bare, dry skin as shown in the pad diagrams.

3. Clear the victim—no one touching—and allow the AED to analyze rhythm.

4. If a shock is advised, clear everyone again and press the shock button.

5. Resume CPR immediately after the shock; do not wait to check for a pulse.

6. Continue following AED prompts every two minutes.

In a marine shop, keep pads away from metal surfaces and ensure the victim is not lying in standing water before attaching pads.

Marine-Specific Emergencies

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Exposure

CO is produced by any combustion engine. Test bays where engines run indoors are high-risk zones. CO is colorless and odorless; victims may collapse with little warning.

Response steps:

1. Scene safety first. Do not enter a CO-contaminated space without confirming ventilation is on and the source is shut down. Call for help and let EMS know CO is suspected.

2. Move the victim to fresh air only if you can do so safely.

3. Begin CPR if the victim is unresponsive and not breathing normally.

4. Provide oxygen if trained and equipment is available.

5. Report CO readings from the shop detector to EMS.

Prevention: always operate engines in accordance with shop ventilation procedures; use calibrated CO detectors in test bays.

Fuel Burns (Pressurized Fuel Line)

Gasoline and other fuels cause chemical burns in addition to potential flame burns. Fuel can ignite from a spark during the incident.

Response steps:

1. Eliminate ignition sources before rendering aid if safe to do so.

2. Flush the affected skin with large amounts of cool running water for at least the time period specified by your first aid provider (generally 20 minutes for chemical burns).

3. Remove contaminated clothing while flushing, taking care not to spread fuel to unaffected areas.

4. Cover with a clean, non-fluffy dressing.

5. Activate EMS for any burn beyond minor skin redness.

Electric Shock from Shore Power

Shore-power systems supply AC voltage. Contact can cause cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, or severe burns.

Response steps:

1. Do not touch the victim until the power source is de-energized. Use lockout/tagout or disconnect the shore-power plug—never use your bare hands to pull a victim away from a live source.

2. Once the scene is safe, assess responsiveness and breathing.

3. Begin CPR and apply the AED as soon as possible; electric shock is a common cause of ventricular fibrillation.

4. Treat any visible burns as you would a thermal burn.

5. All electric shock victims must be evaluated by EMS regardless of how they feel afterward.

Infection Control During Resuscitation

Always use gloves and a face shield or pocket mask when providing care. Place used gloves and barriers in a sealed bag. Wash hands thoroughly after any patient contact. These steps protect both you and the victim.

Scene Safety Is Always Step One

Before approaching any victim, pause and assess: Is the fuel still spraying? Is CO still accumulating? Is the shore power still live? A rescuer who becomes a victim helps no one. Confirm the scene is safe, call for help (activate EMS), and then act.

Earning Your Certification Card

To complete this lesson you must pass both the written knowledge test and the hands-on skills stations administered by the accredited provider at the passing threshold they set. If you do not pass on the first attempt, you will receive one remediation session before retesting. Your certification card is a portable credential recognized by employers and is valid for the period stated by the issuing organization.

Key terms8

High-quality CPRCardiopulmonary resuscitation performed at the correct compression rate and depth, with full chest recoil, minimal interruptions, and avoidance of excessive ventilation, as defined by the accredited provider's current guidelines.

AED (Automated External Defibrillator)A portable device that analyzes a victim's heart rhythm and delivers an electrical shock to restore a normal rhythm if a shockable rhythm such as ventricular fibrillation is detected.

Ventricular fibrillationA chaotic, disorganized heart rhythm that stops effective blood pumping and is the most common shockable rhythm treated by an AED.

Carbon monoxide (CO)A colorless, odorless, poisonous gas produced by combustion engines; accumulation in enclosed spaces such as engine test bays can cause rapid incapacitation and death.

Scene safetyThe first step in any emergency response—assessing the environment for ongoing hazards (live electricity, CO, fuel) before approaching the victim to avoid creating additional casualties.

Lockout/tagout (LOTO)A safety procedure that de-energizes and physically prevents re-energization of equipment before work or rescue is performed; required before approaching a victim of electric shock.

Chest recoilThe complete rise of the chest wall between CPR compressions, which allows the heart to refill with blood; prevented by leaning on the chest between compressions.

Infection controlMeasures taken during patient care—including gloves, face shields, and pocket masks—to prevent transmission of bloodborne pathogens and other infectious agents between rescuer and victim.

In class: Watch instructor demonstration of high-quality CPR sequence on a manikin, then practice two-minute rotations on adult, child, and infant manikins with real-time feedback from a CPR feedback device until compression depth and rate fall within provider standards. · Role-play three marine shop emergency scenarios—technician collapses after CO exposure in an engine test tank bay, fuel burn from pressurized fuel line, and electric shock from shore power—applying scene safety, call-for-help, and first aid steps while an observer scores actions on the provider skills checklist. · Complete the written knowledge test and hands-on skills evaluation required by the accredited first aid/CPR/AED provider to earn certification cards.
Materials: Accredited first aid/CPR/AED provider curriculum and certification cards (e.g., American Red Cross or American Heart Association), adult/child/infant manikins, CPR feedback devices, training AED units, first aid kits, gloves and face shields for infection control, CO detector demonstration unit
Check: Students must pass both the written test and the hands-on skills station at the passing threshold set by the certification provider; students who do not certify on the first attempt receive one remediation session before retesting.

Practice check8

Answer each question, then check it. Nothing is recorded; this is your own practice.