The Family Emergency Playbook

The first minutes of a home emergency belong to whoever is in the room.

Help is on its way, but it is minutes away. Before Help Arrives™ gives your whole household one calm, simple plan for those minutes, so nobody freezes and everybody has a job.

Recognise · Decide · Act · Hold

Get the playbook · $27

Instant PDF download
30-day money-back guarantee
Written by a registered nurse

Why it matters

Most emergencies don't happen in hospitals. They happen at home.

At dinner. On a quiet Sunday morning. At a birthday party. With the people who love you most, and who have had the least training.

In most homes, the emergency plan lives in one person's head. If that person isn't the one who's there, nobody else knows what to do. And while the ambulance is on its way, what happens in the room decides a great deal.

The question is not whether help is coming. It is what happens before help arrives.

One framework for every emergency

Four steps your brain can find under pressure

Every emergency in the playbook follows the same sequence, so when it happens you're not trying to remember five different procedures. You're following one.

Recognise

Spot the signs that something serious is happening, and how serious it is.

Decide

Choose the right response, starting with calling your emergency number.

Act

Do the few things that matter most in the first minutes.

Hold

Keep the person safe and keep going until help takes over.

A role for everyone

Decided once, around the dinner table. Ready for the day it matters.

The playbook gives each person in your home a clear job, including older children, so nobody stands frozen and nobody gets in the way.

The Caller

Calls your emergency number and stays on the line.

The Responder

Stays with the person and follows the steps.

The Support

Fetches the kit, the AED or the medication.

Door & Access

Unlocks the door and guides the ambulance in.

Carer for Others

Looks after the children and anyone frightened.

What's inside

A 50-page playbook and 17 quick-reference cards

1
Cardiovascular emergenciesCardiac arrest, heart attack and stroke (with BE-FAST), and your Family Emergency Roles
2
Breathing emergenciesChoking in adults, children and babies; severe asthma; anaphylaxis
3
Trauma and bleedingSevere bleeding, including tourniquets; burns; head injuries
4
Childhood emergenciesFebrile seizures; CPR for babies and children; dehydration; poisoning and button batteries
5
Medical emergenciesLow blood sugar, seizures and hypertensive crisis

In every module: the myths that cost time, a real-life scenario, family roles, what to say when you call, a six-monthly readiness checklist, and the recognised certification courses to take next. Plus 17 Quick-Reference Cards to print for the fridge and first aid kit, and screenshot for every phone.

Cover of the Family Emergency Playbook — The playbook

The four-step framework page — The framework

A Decide and act page from Module 1 — Step-by-step pages

Family Emergency Roles worksheet — Your family roles

Quick-Reference Cards for cardiovascular emergencies — Quick-Reference Cards

CPR for babies and children page — Babies and children

Up to date, and written for families

Built on current guidelines, in plain language

Based on the 2025 American Heart Association CPR guidelines, the 2024 AHA and Red Cross First Aid guidelines, and current European and UK guidance, including the 2025 change to how babies are given chest compressions.

Who it's for

Parents and grandparents
Multigenerational households
Carers and nannies
Families far from the nearest ambulance

Wherever you live

One international English edition, with emergency and poison numbers for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, EU, Australia and New Zealand, and both metric and imperial units. Prints on A4 and US Letter.

What it isn't

It's not a certification, and not a replacement for a hands-on CPR and First Aid course. It's the decision layer that comes before the technique, and every module points you to a course near you.

Who wrote it

Segolame Setlhare, RN

A registered nurse and former American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care Consultant, who has spent a career training families, schools and workplaces to act before help arrives. Before Help Arrives™ puts that training into a plan any household can follow.

Registered nurse
Former AHA ECC Consultant
Published by HSS (PTY) Ltd

Get your family ready

One plan. Everyone ready. Before help arrives.

Read it in an evening, one module at a time, or together as a family. Then print the cards, assign the roles and run through the checklist every six months.

30DAY

30-day money-back guarantee. Work through it. If you don't feel more ready, reply to your receipt email within 30 days for a full refund. No forms, no questions.

The Family Emergency Playbook

$27 one-time · USD

50-page Family Emergency Playbook (PDF)
17 Quick-Reference Cards to print and screenshot
Family Emergency Roles and readiness checklists
Certification courses by country
Free updated editions when guidelines change

Get instant access

Secure checkout by Gumroad. Prices shown in your local currency, with any tax added at checkout. At checkout you can also add the Family Readiness Kit: drills, scenarios and a fill-in emergency directory.

Not ready to buy? Start here

Free: Is Your Family Ready?

If something happened at home tonight, who would call for help? Who would open the door for the paramedics? This free 10-minute checklist has 29 boxes in five areas. Tick what's already true, and see where your family's gaps are before an emergency finds them.

Get the free checklist

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Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is this a first aid course?

No. Courses teach hands-on technique. This teaches your household to recognise what's happening, decide on the right response, and coordinate who does what. They work best together, and every module points you to a recognised course near you.

Do I need medical knowledge?

None at all. It's written for adults with no medical background, and older children can follow the roles.

How long does it take?

Two to three hours to read the whole playbook, or one module at a time. The cards and checklists are for keeping.

Which countries is it for?

It's one international English edition, with emergency and poison numbers for the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, EU, Australia and New Zealand.

Is it suitable for families with babies?

Yes. Module 4 covers febrile seizures, baby and child choking, CPR for babies and children, dehydration and poisoning.

What format is it?

PDF, as an instant download after checkout. It works on phones, tablets and computers, and prints on both A4 and US Letter.

What's the refund policy?

A 30-day money-back guarantee. Reply to your receipt email or write to hello@beforehelparrives.org within 30 days for a full refund. See our Refund Policy.

Make the plan before you need it.

It takes one evening. Then everyone in your home knows their part.

Get the playbook · $27