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Training, guidance and life-saving skills from the National Civil Defense Service. Prepared communities are safer communities.
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Learn the skills before you need them
Providing safety and fire prevention training to communities is one of the core objectives of the Service. NCDS delivers the following programmes across Juba.
Community Fire Safety
Fire prevention in the home, escape planning, and safe use of a fire extinguisher. Open to households, community groups and residents’ associations.
Half day · Juba · Community groups
Workplace Fire Safety
Fire marshal duties, evacuation planning, equipment checks and record keeping for businesses, hotels, markets, schools and public institutions.
Half day · On site · Staff teams
First Aid & CPR
Practical first aid: unresponsive casualties, CPR, choking, severe bleeding and burns. Delivered by NCDS instructors.
One day · Juba · Open and workplace
School Fire Safety
Fire safety demonstration and evacuation drill for students, with guidance for teachers on running drills and maintaining assembly points.
Half day · On site · Schools
How fire-safe are you?
Seven questions that take about three minutes. Work through them for your home or your workplace and be honest about the answers.
If you answer “no” to any question, that is where to start. Send us your results and an NCDS safety officer will advise, or arrange a full inspection.
Every home and workplace should have at least one extinguisher of the correct type, mounted where it can be reached without passing through the fire.
Check the NCDS sticker. An extinguisher that is out of date, discharged or has lost pressure will not work when you need it.
Fire exits and final exit doors must open from the inside without a key at all times the premises is occupied.
Corridors, stairways and exits must never be used for storage, even temporarily.
Everyone should know to call 888 and be able to state the location clearly. Write the address by the telephone or on the fire action notice.
Choose a place a safe distance from the building where everyone gathers, so you can tell NCDS immediately whether anyone is missing.
A drill is the only way to know whether the plan works. Record the date, how long it took, and anything that went wrong.
The first minutes matter most
What to do when you reach someone who is hurt, before NCDS arrives. Call 888 as early as you can.
Check for danger
Before you approach, make sure it is safe for you. You cannot help anyone if you become a casualty. Look for fire, traffic, electricity, falling material and unstable ground.
Check for a response
Speak loudly and shake the shoulders gently. If there is no response, shout for help and send someone to call 888.
Open the airway
Place one hand on the forehead and tilt the head back, then lift the chin with two fingers.
Check breathing
Look, listen and feel for no more than 10 seconds. Occasional gasping is not normal breathing — treat it as absent.
If breathing normally
Place the casualty in the recovery position, on their side with the head tilted back so the airway stays open, and stay with them until help arrives.
If not breathing normally
Start CPR immediately. See the CPR guide below.
Burns
Cool the burn under clean running water for at least 20 minutes. Remove clothing and jewellery near the burn unless it is stuck to the skin. Cover with clean, non-fluffy material. Never apply ice, oil, butter or toothpaste.
Choking
If they cannot speak, cough or breathe, give up to 5 firm back blows between the shoulder blades, then up to 5 abdominal thrusts. Alternate until the obstruction clears or they become unresponsive — then start CPR.
Smoke inhalation
Move the casualty into fresh air only if it is safe for you to do so. Sit them upright, loosen tight clothing and keep them calm. Anyone who has breathed smoke needs medical assessment even if they seem well.
This guidance does not replace hands-on training. Written instructions are a reminder, not a substitute for a certified course. NCDS runs practical first aid and CPR training — request a session. In any emergency, call 888 first.
Adult CPR, step by step
If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing normally, CPR keeps blood moving to the brain until help arrives. Starting badly is better than not starting.
Confirm it is needed
The casualty is unresponsive and not breathing normally. Make sure 888 has been called and ask for an ambulance.
Position your hands
Kneel beside the casualty. Place the heel of one hand in the centre of the chest, on the lower half of the breastbone. Place the other hand on top and interlock your fingers. Keep your arms straight and your shoulders directly above your hands.
Compress
Push down hard and fast, 5–6 cm deep, at a rate of 100–120 compressions per minute. Let the chest come all the way back up between compressions without taking your hands off.
Give rescue breaths
After 30 compressions, tilt the head, lift the chin, pinch the nose and give 2 breaths, each over about one second, enough to make the chest rise. Then return immediately to compressions.
Keep going 30:2
Continue 30 compressions to 2 breaths without stopping until NCDS or medical help takes over, the casualty starts breathing normally, or you are too exhausted to continue.
If you cannot or will not give breaths
Give continuous chest compressions at 100–120 per minute and do not stop. Compression-only CPR is far better than doing nothing.
Rate
100–120 compressions per minute — about two per second. Push to the beat of a fast, steady song you know well.
Depth
5–6 cm on an adult chest. Let the chest recoil fully between each compression.
Ratio
30 compressions to 2 rescue breaths. If you cannot give breaths, give continuous compressions.
Children and infants differ. For a child, start with 5 rescue breaths and compress about one third of the chest depth. For an infant, use two fingers. NCDS covers both on the practical First Aid & CPR course. Request a session.
Stopping severe bleeding
Severe bleeding can kill in minutes. Anyone standing nearby can stop it with pressure. Call 888 and start straight away.
Protect yourself
Use gloves or a clean barrier between your hands and the blood if anything is available. Do not delay treatment to look for one.
Apply direct pressure
Press firmly on the wound with a clean pad, cloth or your gloved hand. Keep pressing — do not lift to check. Most bleeding stops with firm, uninterrupted pressure.
Pack a deep wound
For a deep wound in the groin, armpit or neck where a tourniquet cannot be used, push clean gauze or cloth firmly into the wound, filling it completely, then press down hard over the top.
Use a tourniquet on a limb
If bleeding from an arm or leg will not stop with pressure and is life-threatening, apply a tourniquet 5–7 cm above the wound, not over a joint. Tighten until the bleeding stops. It will hurt — that is expected.
Note the time
Write the time the tourniquet was applied and tell the NCDS crew. Once applied, a tourniquet must not be loosened or removed by a bystander.
Keep the casualty warm
Lay them down, keep them warm and keep talking to them until help arrives. Do not give food or drink.
This guidance does not replace hands-on training. Written instructions are a reminder, not a substitute for a certified course. NCDS runs practical first aid and CPR training — request a session. In any emergency, call 888 first.
Documents and guidance
Official NCDS publications and the legislation that governs the Service.
NCDS Strategic Plan
The first strategic plan of the Service: the Pillars of Reform, objectives and five-year goals.
National Civil Defense Service Act 2022
The Act establishing the mandate, powers and core activities of NCDS.
Fire Safety Guidance for Businesses
What premises owners must do to meet fire safety requirements and obtain certification.
Home Fire Safety Checklist
A one-page checklist for households, suitable for printing and displaying.
Looking for something else? Research requests, data enquiries and requests for official documents can be sent to info@ncds.gov.ss.
Bring this training to your community
NCDS delivers fire safety, first aid and CPR training to workplaces, schools and community groups across Juba.