What is the primary purpose of triage at a medical incident?

• A. Determine guilt
• B. Prioritize medical treatment by severity
• C. Document all injuries
• D. Preserve the crime scene

Answer: (B)

When responders perform triage, the main idea is to quickly sort each patient by how urgently they need treatment so that limited medical resources—people, equipment, and transport—are directed to those who are most at risk. The goal is to save as many lives as possible by treating the most severely in-need patients first and adjusting priorities as conditions change or more resources become available.

This isn’t about figuring out guilt, documenting every injury for records, or preserving the crime scene. Those tasks belong to investigators and evidence management. Triage stays focused on immediate medical prioritization to guide on-scene care and evacuation decisions.