system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If a paramedic is the first responder at the scene of a disaster where there are many seriously injured people, how do they decide who to treat first?
gpt
Triage.

They typically assist those who need assistance the most but who the help will actually end up changing the situation.

For example, if there's been a terrible car accident, and someone is clearly dying (maybe they had their entire lower body torn off or soemthing and their guts are spilled out everywhere) then a responder *could* spend time trying to keep that person alive but this will take a long time and also potentially be wasted since even *with* the help that person was pretty much screwed. It would make more sense to assist the person who has a metal rod through their arm, for example, since that person will almost certainly live. But if someone else maybe has some metal bits through their shoulder, they should get the attention first since the person with the arm wound can handle it for a little bit while the shoulder wound person gets attention so they don't bleed out.

So in short, it really depends. But deciding who to help is called "triage" and it is a way of figuring out a priority. Help those who need it most while minimizing harm caused to others as a result of choosing not to helm them.