CONIFER — JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — Two tourniquets. Four rolls of gauze. One pair of trauma shears.
That small kit — and the training to use it — is what Chris Harrington and Jeremy Garst believe could be the difference between life and death in a school emergency.
The two co-founders of the First Minute Project, a nonprofit, are working to place bleeding control supplies in every classroom across Colorado, along with free 45-minute training sessions for school staff.
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"The basic foundation of every school safety program should be EMS response. It should be this program of applying tourniquets, packing wounds with gauze," Garst said.
Harrington has spent decades as a first responder. Garst served in the Marine Corps infantry.
When a 16-year-old student opened fire inside Evergreen High School last year, the two weren't only thinking about the victims. They were thinking about the time it would take first responders to clear each room and reach the injured.
"The vast majority of folks that we've lost to mass violence, they did not have life-threatening fatal injuries. They passed because somebody didn't get to them in enough time to stop the bleeding," Harrington said.
The program's name reflects its core mission: treating a victim within the first minute of any kind of wound.
The training and supplies have already been implemented at Conifer High School. The school's principal spoke positively about the program. The Jefferson County School District was contacted to find out whether other schools would follow suit, but had not responded as of this report.
For Harrington and Garst, one high school in the foothills is not enough.
"Our priorities are the schools, but after Colorado, we'd love to bring it nationwide," Harrington said.
To expand the program, the two have reached out to state legislators, hoping to spearhead what they're calling the First Minute Act.
"Haven't heard back yet," Harrington said. "I hope one of our representatives will see it and latch onto it."
In the meantime, they are focused on building community awareness and support.
"It takes a village to get this stuff done, and we need the village's help," Garst said.
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