Emergency Procedures and Safety
What this domain covers
This domain tests your ability to act in the first minutes of a fire, crash, stall, or medical emergency. The exam emphasizes evacuation, student accounting, communication, and scene safety. Maryland requires school bus emergency evacuation drills, so you should know your bus's exits and your district's evacuation plan before an emergency occurs.
Core rules
- Know all exits: front door, rear door, side windows, and roof hatches; use the nearest safe exit and send students to a designated assembly point.
- For fire, stop the bus, shut off the engine, evacuate students upwind and away from traffic, call 911, and account for every student. Do not fully open the engine hood if you suspect an engine fire.
- For a crash, secure the scene, check injuries, call 911, and do not move injured students unless they are in immediate danger.
- For a stall on railroad tracks, evacuate immediately and move students away from the tracks at an angle.
- Use the fire extinguisher only on a small, contained fire and only if you have a clear escape route.
- Follow universal precautions and use the body-fluid cleanup kit; report exposure incidents.
Worked example
Smoke comes from the engine compartment. You pull off the road, stop, shut off the engine, and evacuate through the front door because it is away from traffic. You lead students at least 100 feet upwind, call 911, and count them against your roster. You do not reboard to check the engine or let a student return for a backpack.
Traps that cost marks
Opening the hood wide on an engine fire; moving injured students unnecessarily; failing to count students at the assembly point; and reboarding before the scene is declared safe. The first priority is always getting students away from the hazard.