Walking smoke inhalation stridor — DipIMC MCQ

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HardMajor Incident ManagementWalking smoke inhalation stridorDipIMC

At a nightclub fire, a woman walks to triage but coughs black sputum and has inspiratory stridor. She is frightened and wants to sit down. What is the triage category?

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Correct answer: A — Priority 1 (red)

Option A is correct because Airway compromise such as stridor is an immediate life threat despite walking ability. Option B is less appropriate because Priority 2 is for serious injury without immediate life-saving criteria; option C is less appropriate because Priority 3 is for walking wounded or minor casualties with stable physiology. Option E is less appropriate because expectant triage is used in exceptional resource-limited circumstances; option D is less appropriate because the stem does not meet criteria for death assignment. Clinical pearl: in DipIMC-style questions, the best answer is the intervention that changes outcome earliest in the pre-hospital phase.

Reference: MIMMS; NHS Major Incident Triage Tool