EMT practice test

EMT Scene Size-up and Safety Practice Test

Scene safety, mechanism of injury, resources and triage. Here are 10 EMT scene size-up and safety questions, each with the answer and the reason.

Updated 2026-11-14 by the Tigertest team. Weighted to the NREMT EMT examination specifications (April 2025). Protocols vary; follow local medical direction. Not affiliated with the NREMT.

1. 1.

   A 55-year-old man with an open leg fracture cannot walk, breathes 20 per minute, has a radial pulse, and obeys commands. Using START, tag him:

   • A.

     Immediate (red)

   • B.

     Minor (green)

   • C.

     Delayed (yellow)

   • D.

     Expectant (black)

   Answer: C.

   He fails only the walking test: respirations under 30, radial pulse present and following commands make him delayed. The painful fracture does not by itself make him immediate under START.

2. 2.

   At a school bus crash, a 4-year-old is not breathing after you open the airway but has a palpable pulse. Under JumpSTART you should:

   • A.

     Give 5 rescue breaths and reassess

   • B.

     Tag her expectant and move on

   • C.

     Begin chest compressions immediately

   • D.

     Tag her delayed until more help arrives

   Answer: A.

   JumpSTART recognizes that apnea in children is often respiratory, so an apneic child with a pulse gets 5 rescue breaths; if breathing resumes she is immediate. Tagging her expectant without the breaths, as in adult START, would miss a salvageable child.

3. 3.

   A 60-year-old woman tagged yellow 20 minutes ago now has respirations of 34 and new confusion in the treatment area. You should:

   • A.

     Leave the yellow tag to avoid confusion

   • B.

     Wait for the triage officer to reassess her

   • C.

     Re-triage her and change her tag to immediate

   • D.

     Move her to the end of the transport line

   Answer: C.

   Triage is dynamic, and patients are reassessed and retagged as their condition changes. Her rapid respirations and altered mental status now meet immediate criteria, so leaving the original tag delays her care.

4. 4.

   At a home, a 45-year-old woman is dizzy and you smell a strong odor of natural gas. After moving everyone outside, you should request:

   • A.

     Law enforcement to secure the home

   • B.

     Air medical transport for the patient

   • C.

     Poison control for exposure advice

   • D.

     The fire department and the gas utility

   Answer: D.

   A gas leak is an explosion hazard that needs the fire department to secure the scene and the utility to shut off and repair the supply. Police and poison control cannot control the source of the hazard.

5. 5.

   All ambulances in your county are committed to a large apartment fire with many injured residents. To obtain more transport units, request:

   • A.

     Mutual aid from neighboring EMS agencies

   • B.

     Police cars to transport the stable patients

   • C.

     Bystanders to drive patients in private cars

   • D.

     An air medical helicopter for each patient

   Answer: A.

   Mutual aid agreements let neighboring agencies send ambulances when local resources are overwhelmed. Police cars and private vehicles provide no patient care en route, and air medical is reserved for patients who need its speed or skills.

6. 6.

   At night during an ice storm, you are sent to a rural farmhouse with a long unpaved driveway for a 70-year-old woman who fell. Before arrival you should:

   • A.

     Drive faster to make up for weather delays

   • B.

     Plan for access and icy footing hazards

   • C.

     Assume a private home is a safe scene

   • D.

     Leave equipment in the truck to move faster

   Answer: B.

   Weather and access shape the plan: route, where to park, how to carry the patient over ice, and whether more hands are needed. Speeding on ice increases the risk of an ambulance crash, and no residence should be assumed safe.

7. 7.

   A sedan lies on its side after a rollover, and the 22-year-old driver is moaning inside. Before anyone reaches in, you should:

   • A.

     Rock the car gently to test whether it is stable

   • B.

     Climb onto the upper side to open the door

   • C.

     Pull her through the windshield right away

   • D.

     Have trained personnel stabilize the vehicle

   Answer: D.

   An unstable vehicle can roll onto rescuers or worsen the patient's injuries, so cribbing and stabilization come before access. Climbing on or rocking the car is exactly the movement that causes it to shift.

8. 8.

   At a working house fire, a woman says her 60-year-old husband is still inside a smoke-filled bedroom. You should:

   • A.

     Crawl in low under the smoke to find him

   • B.

     Enter quickly wearing an N95 mask and eye protection

   • C.

     Send a bystander who knows the floor plan

   • D.

     Tell firefighters and stay out of the structure

   Answer: D.

   Entry into a burning, smoke-filled building requires turnout gear, SCBA and training, so the EMT relays the information to firefighters and prepares to treat. An N95 offers no protection against smoke, heat or carbon monoxide.

9. 9.

   You arrive for a 55-year-old diabetic man who is confused, but a large dog is lunging and barking at the screen door. You should:

   • A.

     Ask the occupant to secure the dog first

   • B.

     Enter slowly while keeping eye contact with the dog

   • C.

     Distract the dog with food and walk past

   • D.

     Use your jump bag as a shield and go in

   Answer: A.

   Animals are a scene hazard; the crew does not enter until the dog is confined by the owner or animal control. A bitten EMT becomes a second patient and cannot care for the first.

10. 10.

    While you treat a 19-year-old with a gunshot wound to the thigh in a park, a hostile crowd gathers and begins shouting. You should:

    • A.

      Finish a complete secondary assessment on scene

    • B.

      Ask the crowd to form a protective circle

    • C.

      Load him promptly and continue care en route

    • D.

      Leave him and wait inside the ambulance

    Answer: C.

    When a crowd turns hostile, the safest choice is to move the patient into the ambulance and leave, treating life threats on the way. Staying for a full assessment prolongs the danger, and abandoning the patient is not appropriate while you can safely remove him.