by aemts | Oct 27, 2026 | Safety & Training News
Why Daylight Saving Time Is a Winter Safety Reminder
This Sunday, November 1, clocks across New Brunswick fall back an hour as Daylight Saving Time ends. Most of us think of it as an extra hour of sleep. Fire departments and safety organizations across the country use the same weekend every year to remind households to do one simple thing: change your clock, change your batteries.
It’s a good habit, and this year it lines up with something else worth paying attention to: heating season. As temperatures drop across the Quispamsis–Saint John area, furnaces kick in, wood stoves get lit, and space heaters come out of storage. All of that is normal, and all of it raises the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) exposure in the home.
Carbon Monoxide Safety: What Every Household Should Know
CO is colourless, odourless, and impossible to detect without an alarm. It’s produced whenever fuel burns, in furnaces, wood stoves, generators, and vehicles, and it builds up fastest in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation. That’s exactly what a closed-up New Brunswick home looks like in November. Early CO exposure can feel a lot like the flu: headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, fatigue. Because the symptoms are so easy to write off, a working CO alarm is the only reliable early warning.
If you or someone with you starts showing these signs and you suspect CO, get everyone outside into fresh air right away, call 911, and don’t go back inside until emergency responders say it’s safe. If someone becomes unresponsive and isn’t breathing normally, start CPR and keep going until help arrives or an AED is available. Breathing-related emergencies are exactly why Heart & Stroke’s current Canadian CPR guidelines put renewed emphasis on rescue breaths alongside compressions. The same reasoning applies here, since CO poisoning affects breathing and oxygen delivery much like drowning or choking does.
Your Winter Home Safety Checklist
While you’re testing alarms this weekend, it’s worth doing a quick pass on the rest of your household’s emergency readiness heading into the darker, colder months:
- Test every smoke and CO alarm in the home, and replace the batteries even if the alarm seems to be working.
- Check your first aid kit. Restock anything used over the summer and toss anything expired.
- Make sure flashlights have working batteries. With earlier sunsets, you’ll want them within reach.
- Talk through your family’s emergency plan: where to meet outside if an alarm goes off, and who calls for help.
First Aid and CPR Training: Be Ready for an Emergency
It’s also a good time to think about your own skills, not just your equipment. Red Cross guidance recommends renewing First Aid and CPR certification roughly every three years, and the move into shorter days and more time indoors together is a natural prompt to do it. AEMTS offers Standard First Aid, Emergency First Aid, and CPR courses right here in the Quispamsis–Saint John area, along with a Babysitting course that’s popular with families whose teens are home alone more as evenings get dark earlier. A few hours now means your household is ready before winter really sets in.
Is your First Aid and CPR training up to date?
AEMTS offers First Aid, CPR, and Babysitting courses in the Quispamsis–Saint John area to help individuals and families prepare for emergencies. Don’t wait until an emergency happens. Explore upcoming AEMTS courses and build the confidence to respond when it matters most.
Clocks fall back once a year. Make it the moment your home’s safety net gets checked too.
by aemts | Oct 21, 2026 | Safety & Training News
If you blinked, you might have missed it: October 16 was World Restart a Heart Day, an international campaign led by resuscitation councils in the UK and the US that pushes one simple message: more bystanders trained in CPR means more lives saved. It’s not a Canadian-specific day, but Heart & Stroke Canada sits on the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR), the international body whose science underpins the CPR and first aid guidelines used across North America, so the message applies just as much here in New Brunswick.
And the numbers make the case better than we ever could. According to Heart & Stroke Canada, there are roughly 60,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests across the country every year, about one every nine minutes, and only around one in ten people survive. Bystander CPR rates vary widely by region, and in most public places, an AED gets used in only about 13 percent of cases where one might have helped. Those gaps aren’t about bad luck. They’re about how many of us, in the moment, aren’t sure what to do, or hesitate because we’re afraid of doing it wrong.
Here’s the reassuring part: current international guidance is clear that bystanders should start CPR on any adult who appears to be in cardiac arrest- unresponsive and not breathing normally – without worrying that they might hurt someone who turns out not to be in arrest. The risk of harm from unnecessary chest compressions is very low, and the risk of doing nothing is far higher. You don’t need to be a paramedic to make the difference between a family getting their person back and a tragedy. For an adult, that means recognizing the signs, calling 911, starting chest compressions, and using an AED if one is nearby, continuing until help arrives. (Infants and young children are a bit different; current guidance has rescue breaths playing a bigger role for them, which is exactly the kind of detail a proper course walks you through.)
Why fall specifically?
A few things line up this time of year that make CPR and first aid skills worth dusting off.
The days are getting shorter and colder, which means more of us are indoors, more time is spent around wood stoves and space heaters, and physical exertion in cold weather think hauling firewood or clearing the first wet snow puts extra strain on the heart. Cardiac events don’t wait for a convenient season, but cold weather is a known contributing factor.
At the same time, fall is prime season for deer and moose hunting across New Brunswick. That means more people heading into the woods, often alone or in pairs, well outside cell coverage and a long way from the nearest ambulance. (Check the Government of New Brunswick’s hunting regulations for this year’s exact zone-by-zone season dates before you head out.) If something goes wrong out there: a fall, a laceration, a cardiac event, or a vehicle or ATV mishap on a back road, the person with you is the only “first responder” you’ve got until paramedics can reach you, and that can take considerably longer in a rural or wooded area than it would in town. The same logic applies to anyone spending more time outdoors as hunting, firewood cutting, and fall property work pick up.
What you can actually do about it
You don’t need to memorize a textbook. A few practical habits go a long way:
Know the basics of recognizing cardiac arrest and starting hands-only CPR on an adult; this alone is one of the single most impactful skills an untrained bystander can learn. Keep a well-stocked first aid kit in the truck, the boat, and the hunting pack, not just at home. Tell someone your plan and expected return time before you head into the woods, and carry a way to call for help if your phone won’t have signal. And if it’s been a few years since your last certification, or you’ve never taken one, consider getting it done before the cold really sets in rather than after.
This is exactly the kind of preparedness AEMTS works with people and workplaces on throughout the year: CPR, Standard and Emergency First Aid, and higher-level EMR and First Responder training for those who want to go further. None of it requires a medical background to start, just a willingness to learn skills that, statistically, you are far more likely to use on a stranger, a coworker, or a family member than you’d think.
World Restart a Heart Day comes and goes every October, but the reason it exists doesn’t. Somewhere in New Brunswick this fall, someone’s survival will come down to whether the person standing next to them knew what to do in the first ninety seconds. Make sure that if it’s you, the answer is yes.
Interested in CPR or first aid training for yourself, your family, or your team? AEMTS offers courses throughout the Quispamsis–Saint John area and beyond reach out any time to find the right fit.
by aemts | Oct 5, 2026 | Safety & Training News
Why First Aid Matters During Fall Outdoor Season in New Brunswick
Rural and wilderness settings in New Brunswick come with a simple reality: if something goes wrong, help can be a while away. Cell coverage is patchy in a lot of hunting and ATV country, and even a quick call to 911 might be followed by a long wait for an ambulance to reach a back road or a trail. That gap is exactly what first aid training is meant to fill — giving you the skills to stabilize someone and keep them safe until paramedics arrive.
A few of the most common fall outdoor incidents worth being ready for:
Cuts and lacerations. Whether it’s a hunting knife, a chainsaw, or a multi-tool, blade injuries pick up every fall. Knowing how to apply firm, direct pressure and keep a wound controlled until help arrives can make a real difference.
Falls. Tree stands, uneven ground, wet leaves, and steep terrain are a recipe for sprains, fractures, and head injuries. Knowing how to check for serious injury and when to keep someone still versus when to move them is a core first aid skill.
ATV incidents. New Brunswick sees ATV-related injuries every fall as trail traffic picks up. Helmets and training reduce risk, but so does knowing basic trauma first aid if a rider goes down.
Cold exposure. It doesn’t have to be winter for hypothermia to be a risk. Cool fall nights, rain, and physical exhaustion are a common combination in the woods. Early signs — shivering, fumbling hands, slurred speech, confusion — are easy to miss if you don’t know what to look for. The safest response is gentle and passive: get the person dry, insulated (blankets, dry layers, a barrier from the ground), and out of the wind as soon as possible. Avoid vigorously rubbing their arms and legs or applying direct heat, and don’t wait for symptoms to get worse before calling for help.
A simple fall readiness checklist
- Check your first aid kit. Make sure it’s stocked for trauma (gauze, a pressure dressing, tape) and not just adhesive bandages.
- Carry a way to call for help. A charged phone is a start, but consider a satellite communicator or radio if you’re heading somewhere with no cell service.
- Tell someone your plan. Where you’re going and when you expect to be back — every time.
- Layer for the cold. Bring more than you think you’ll need; conditions change fast once the sun goes down.
- Know your basics. Bleeding control, recognizing shock, and recognizing hypothermia are the skills most likely to actually get used.
What’s new in CPR guidance
It’s also a good time to mention that Canadian CPR guidelines were updated by the Heart & Stroke Foundation, with one change that’s especially relevant for families: lay responders are now advised to give rescue breaths — not just chest compressions — when performing CPR on a child or infant, and 911 call-takers will now walk callers through those breaths as part of the instructions. If it’s been a couple of years since you or someone in your household took a CPR course, this is a good reason to refresh.
Building the habit before you need it
None of this requires becoming a medical professional. Formal first aid and CPR training is built for exactly this kind of everyday readiness — for hunters, ATV riders, outdoor workers, and anyone who spends time outside this time of year. At AEMTS, our Standard First Aid & CPR courses cover bleeding control, shock, hypothermia, and CPR for adults, children, and infants, and our Chainsaw Awareness course is well timed for anyone gearing up for firewood season. For those who spend extended periods in remote areas — guides, outfitters, and outdoor workers — our First Responder and Emergency Medical Responder programs go deeper into the kind of sustained patient care that a long wait for EMS can require.
Fall in New Brunswick is one of the best times of year to be outside. A little preparation — a stocked kit, a plan, and some refreshed first aid knowledge — is what keeps it that way.
Interested in upcoming course dates? Visit aemts.ca or get in touch with our team.
by aemts | Sep 21, 2026 | Safety & Training News
New Brunswick’s moose season opens September 22–26 across all Wildlife Management Zones, with archery deer season following in early October and firearms season stretching into late November (exact dates vary by zone; always confirm yours on gnb.ca before heading out). Add in a surge of ATV traffic checking trails and hauling gear, and the next two months mean thousands of New Brunswickers spending long hours in the woods, often far from cell service and even farther from the nearest ambulance.
That combination of remote locations, cool temperatures, and activities that carry a real risk of injury makes fall the season when basic first aid knowledge matters most. Here’s what’s worth knowing before you head out.
Bleeding control comes first
A fall from a tree stand, a knife slip while field dressing, or an ATV mishap can all cause serious bleeding in a matter of seconds, and in the backcountry, help may be 30 minutes to an hour away or more. The priority in that window is simple: apply firm, direct pressure to the wound with whatever clean material you have, and don’t let up to “check” how it’s doing. For a wound on a limb that won’t stop bleeding with direct pressure, a properly applied tourniquet placed high and tight above the injury can be lifesaving, and it’s a skill worth practicing before you need it, not learning for the first time in an emergency. Knowing how to control severe bleeding is one of the most practical, high-value skills anyone spending time in the woods can have.
ATV safety: the numbers are sobering
New Brunswick has one of the higher off-road vehicle injury and fatality rates in Atlantic Canada. A 2025 study published in Cureus reviewing major ATV and snowmobile trauma cases in New Brunswick between 2014 and 2021 found that only 57% of injured riders were wearing a helmet, and more than half who were tested had alcohol on board at the time of their injury. An earlier CBC News investigation found at least 64 ATV and snowmobile deaths in the province since 2012. These numbers reflect year-round riding, not just hunting season, but fall, with more traffic on trails, shorter daylight, and riders hauling heavy gear or a harvested animal, is exactly the kind of higher-risk stretch these statistics point to.
The takeaways are unglamorous but proven: wear a helmet every time, don’t ride after drinking, and match your speed to what you can see and control, especially on unfamiliar trails or in low light.
Don’t underestimate the cold
Hypothermia doesn’t require a lake or a snowstorm; the Canada Safety Council notes that it can set in at air temperatures under 10°C, especially if clothing gets wet from rain, sweat, or a stream crossing. If someone does end up in cold water a real risk when crossing brooks or working near rivers and marshes this time of year the Lifesaving Society’s widely used “1-10-1” guideline is a helpful mental model: roughly one minute to get breathing under control after the initial cold shock, about ten minutes of useful muscle movement before hands and limbs stop responding, and something in the order of an hour of survival time with proper flotation, cold permitting. It’s a general guideline, not a guarantee; actual survival time varies with body size, clothing, and water temperature, but the core lesson holds: cold water disables you far faster than it kills you, so the first minute matters most. Recognizing early hypothermia in yourself or a hunting partner shivering, fumbling hands, slurred speech, poor decision-making and getting warm and dry quickly can prevent a minor mishap from becoming a serious one.
Before you go: the plan matters as much as the kit
A stocked first aid kit is only useful if you also have a plan. Tell someone your route and your expected return time. Carry a way to call for help that doesn’t depend on cell coverage, such as a satellite communicator, in areas where you know service is spotty. And make sure everyone in your hunting or riding group has at least a working knowledge of what to do in the first few minutes of a bleeding injury, a fall, or a cold-exposure emergency because in a remote setting, whoever is standing there when something goes wrong is the first responder, whether they feel ready for it or not.
That’s exactly the gap that hands-on first aid and wilderness/remote first aid training is built to close. At AEMTS, we work with hunters, outdoor workers, and recreational groups across the Quispamsis–Saint John area to build practical, confidence-building skills in bleeding control, cold-weather emergency response, and standard first aid and CPR before the season, not after an incident. If your hunting camp, ATV club, or workplace heads into the bush this fall, a short refresher session now is a lot cheaper than learning these lessons the hard way.
Stay safe out there, and good luck this season.
by aemts | Sep 9, 2026 | Safety & Training News
A concussion is not limited to organized sport. It can follow a fall, collision, workplace incident or blow to the head, neck or body. Symptoms may be subtle or appear gradually, and a person does not need to lose consciousness to have a concussion.
With September recognized as Concussion Awareness Month and September 23 designated Concussion Awareness Day in New Brunswick, now is a useful time for workplaces, schools, teams and families to review how they would respond.
Recognize the possible signs
A concussion can affect how a person thinks, feels, moves and sleeps. Possible symptoms include:
- Headache or pressure in the head
- Dizziness or balance problems
- Nausea
- Blurred vision
- Sensitivity to light or noise
- Confusion, slowed thinking or difficulty concentrating
- Unusual fatigue, irritability or simply “not feeling right”
These symptoms may follow an impact to the body even when there was no obvious direct blow to the head. First aiders do not need to diagnose a concussion. Their role is to recognize the possibility, stop further exposure to danger and arrange appropriate care.
Follow the principle: when in doubt, sit them out
If you suspect a concussion:
- Stop the person’s activity immediately.
- Keep them out of sport, physical work, driving and other activities where another injury could occur.
- Stay with them and continue watching for changes.
- Arrange a prompt medical assessment by an appropriate healthcare professional.
- Record what happened, the symptoms observed and any changes while waiting for care.
An athlete with a suspected concussion must not return to the same game or practice. The same safety principle applies at work: an employee who becomes dizzy, confused or unsteady after an impact should not simply “walk it off” and return to machinery, heights, vehicles or other hazardous duties.
Know when to call 9-1-1
Some symptoms may indicate a more serious head or spinal injury. Call 9-1-1 immediately if the person has:
- Lost consciousness or is becoming difficult to wake
- A seizure or convulsion
- Repeated vomiting
- A severe or worsening headache
- Double vision
- Neck pain
- Weakness, tingling or burning in the arms or legs
- Increasing confusion, agitation or unusual behaviour
- Difficulty breathing or another immediate threat to life
Avoid unnecessary movement when a spinal injury is possible. Do not remove a helmet or protective equipment unless it is necessary to provide lifesaving care and you are trained to do so. Follow the emergency call taker’s instructions. If the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, begin CPR and use an AED as soon as one is available.
Recovery does not mean prolonged complete rest
Current Canadian concussion guidance recommends relative rest during the first 24 to 48 hours, followed by a gradual return to appropriate daily activity. This is different from keeping someone isolated in a dark room until every symptom disappears.
For students, returning to learning should be gradual and adjusted according to symptoms. A student does not have to be completely symptom-free before beginning a supported return to school. Return to sport is a separate, step-by-step process, and activities involving a risk of contact or another fall require medical clearance.
Adults may also need temporary workplace adjustments, such as shorter shifts, additional breaks or reduced exposure to screens, noise, driving, heights and safety-sensitive tasks. Return-to-work decisions should be coordinated with the person’s healthcare provider and applicable workplace or workers’ compensation processes.
Build concussion readiness into your organization
A practical concussion-response plan should identify:
- Who is responsible for stopping an activity
- Who will assess immediate dangers and contact emergency services
- How the person will be supervised until care is arranged
- How incidents and observed symptoms will be documented
- How families, supervisors or designated contacts will be notified
- What medical clearance is required before higher-risk activities resume
Coaches, teachers and supervisors should know that pressure to finish a game, shift or task must never take priority over brain health. A clear policy empowers people to act early without debating whether the injury “looks serious enough.”
Confidence comes from practice
Recognizing concussion signs is only one part of an effective response. First-aid training helps people assess the scene, protect the airway, recognize emergency warning signs, communicate clearly with 9-1-1 and care for someone until professional help arrives.
Atlantic Emergency Medical Training Solutions provides practical first-aid and emergency medical training for workplaces, organizations and communities across Atlantic Canada. Contact AEMTS to discuss training that helps your team respond calmly and confidently when an injury occurs.
This article provides general educational information. It is not individualized medical advice, a diagnosis or a substitute for recognized first-aid training or assessment by a healthcare professional. Call 9-1-1 when emergency warning signs are present.
Sources
- Public Health Agency of Canada — Concussion: Symptoms and treatment, updated April 24, 2025.
- Parachute — Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport, second edition, published March 2024.
- Parachute — Return-to-Sport Strategy, revised April 22, 2024.
- Parachute — Return-to-School Strategy, revised April 22, 2024.
- Canadian Red Cross — Comprehensive Guide for First Aid & CPR, 2025.
- WorkSafeNB — Mild traumatic brain injuries.
- Sport New Brunswick — Concussion Awareness, current guidance accessed September 7, 2026.
