The compact Israeli bandage, in white and by the case — built to be stocked in every kit a first responder might reach for.
At a glance
12 things to know about the 4 in. First Responder Bandage
How the white bandage differs from the military 4 in., what else it can do, and where it fits beside a tourniquet and a chest seal.
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01
The Israeli bandage, for first responders
Safeguard Medical describes FCP-03 as part of The Israeli Bandage® family, made with first responders in mind.4 It is the white 4 in. Emergency Bandage® — white elastic leader, white pad.3 Bernard Bar-Natan invented the Emergency Bandage in Israel in 1993 and the U.S. military made it standard issue in 2003;9 Safeguard acquired PerSys Medical, which brought it to U.S. customers, in 2021.8
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02
Sized for small to medium wounds
The sterile pad measures 4 × 7 in. (10 × 18 cm), and the bandage runs 63 in. (160 cm) unstretched, pad included; PerSys built it for small to medium wounds and amputations, and to wrap severe wounds and small-area amputations.3
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03
How it differs from the military 4 in.
The military 4 in. (FCP-01) has a black elastic wrap and carries NSN 6510-01-460-0849.14 The First Responder version is white throughout,3 and Safeguard packs it 150 to a case rather than 100.4,14 Pad size, pressure bar, closure bar and Stop-N-Go® release are the same design.3,14
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04
Pressure bar, sleeve and closure
An integrated pressure bar applies direct pressure at the wound, the Stop-N-Go® release controls the wrap, a simple closure bar locks it, and a sleeve allows self-application.3 Wrapping through the bar and reversing back over it is what drives the bar onto the pad.7
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05
Simple enough for untrained hands
PerSys designed it to be intuitive and simple for trained and untrained responders alike.3 Practice still matters: the reversal over the pressure bar is the step people miss.
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06
More than a pressure dressing
PerSys lists splinting, slings and head wraps alongside bleeding control and wound coverage.3
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07
An improvised tourniquet — the fallback, not the plan
PerSys states the bandage can be used as an improvised tourniquet,3 and FDA lists it under product code GAX, nonpneumatic tourniquet: Class I, exempt from 510(k).6 For life-threatening limb bleeding, carry and use a evidence-based standard tourniquet.1
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08
The wrapper can seal a chest wound in a pinch
PerSys states the sterile packaging can be used as an improvised chest seal.3 The TCCC Guidelines call for a vented chest seal, or a non-vented seal if no vented seal is available, then close watch for a tension pneumothorax.1 A bystander with nothing else can tape the airtight wrapper over the hole, or have the casualty cover it with a hand, and keep watching breathing.
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09
Pack first, then wrap
Groin, armpit, neck and deep limb wounds are packed before they are wrapped: power ball first on the bleeding vessel, every corner filled, then the bandage over the packing. Never pack the chest or abdomen.
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10
Watch the pressure
In a sensor study of 124 emergency providers, Israeli bandages produced the highest peak pressures and passed 250 mmHg in 28% of applications; providers' sense of tightness did not match the measurement.11 Check circulation below the bandage and loosen it if the hand or foot turns cool, blue or numb, or loses its pulse.7
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11
Not evidence-based standard — the list has no category for it
The Evidence-Based Standard Devices & Adjuncts list covers limb tourniquets, hemostatic dressings, junctional hemorrhage control and airway devices, with no pressure-bandage category.2 Absence from the list does not by itself mean a product was tested and failed.
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12
Eight years on the shelf
Shelf life is 8 years.3 The cold-weather version, FCP-03CWG, carries NSN 6510-01-660-2969;10 Safeguard rates its cold-weather versions for −40 °C to +60 °C (−40 °F to 140 °F) for up to 7 days.4
How to apply the 4 in. First Responder Bandage
The TCCC pressure-bandage sequence, with the decisions that come before it.
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1Tourniquet first for a limb bleed it can control. Life-threatening bleeding from an arm or leg gets a tourniquet. Under threat, or when you cannot see the source: hasty — high and tight, over clothing. Once the wound is exposed: deliberate — on bare skin 2–3 in. above the wound, never across a joint.1
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2Pack a deep or junctional wound. Power ball first, directly on the bleeding vessel, every corner packed tight. Hold pressure at least 3 minutes for hemostatic gauze, or its labeled time;1 at least 10 minutes for plain gauze; or until the bleeding stops — best practice is to hold until someone relieves you. Pack the neck with care so the airway is not compressed. Never pack the chest or abdomen.
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3Pad on the wound. Place the pad directly on the wound, or on the packing, while you keep pressure on it.7
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4Wrap with short tugs. Wrap the leader around the limb, keeping pressure on the pad; do not drag the packing out as you wrap.7
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5Through the bar and back. Feed the leader completely into the pressure bar, then reverse it back over the top. The reversal forces the bar down onto the pad.7
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6Cover the pad, lock the end. Wrap tightly over the bar until the pad edges are covered, then hook the closure bar into the leader.7
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7Check below it. Check color, warmth, feeling and the pulse below the bandage. Cool, bluish or numb skin, or a lost pulse, means it may be too tight: loosen it and re-secure it — on a limb where no tourniquet is intended.7
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8If it soaks through. For a shallow wound, or one under the bandage that is not deep enough to pack, leave the bandage in place and add gauze and pressure on top. A packed wound that keeps bleeding is different: remove the packing, find the source, and repack.1
Where it fits
- Bleeding control, compression and coverage of small to medium wounds3
- Holding pressure over a packed groin, armpit or deep limb wound
- Covering a traumatic amputation once the tourniquet is on1,3
- Splints, slings and head wraps3
- Stocking agencies, stations and public-access kits in bulk
- Life-threatening limb bleeding a tourniquet can control — tourniquet first1
- Taking the place of packing in a deep wound — pack first, then wrap
- Packing into the chest or abdomen — never
- Replacing a chest seal — the wrapper is an improvised seal for when there is no chest seal1,3
The evidence
The studies below tested the Emergency Bandage design and pressure dressings as a class; the First Responder bandage shares the design's pressure bar and closure.
| Study | Evidence type | What was studied | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shipman & Lessard, Mil Med 2009 | Human · pressure measurement | Emergency Bandage with and without its pressure bar on the arm; sensors under the bar and at 90°, 180° and 270° around the limb | The bar raised pressure directly under it without raising it elsewhere; fingertip refill and wrist pulse stayed adequate — no full tourniquet effect |
| Brauckmann et al., Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg 2026 | Simulation · pressure sensors | 124 emergency providers (116 analyzed) applying pressure dressings of their choice over calibrated sensors | Israeli bandages highest peak pressure, 205 ± 98 mmHg; above 250 mmHg in 28% of applications vs 11.1% medium-stretch and 1.6% elastic bandages |
| Charlton et al., Prehosp Emerg Care 2021 | Expert review · systematic review | 107 studies, 22,798 patients, of first-aid bleeding control; 8 studies of pressure dressings, bandages or devices | Direct manual pressure reached hemostasis faster than pressure dressings or devices; certainty of evidence very low |
Strongest to weakest: human data, then simulation, with the review weighing very-low-certainty studies. Hands start bleeding control; the bandage takes over the pressure so they can move on.11,12,13
How it compares
The white First Responder bandages beside the military versions.
| 4 in. First Responder (FCP-03) | 4 in. military (FCP-01) | 6 in. First Responder (FCP-06) | 6 in. military (FCP-02) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Color | White leader, white pad | Black elastic wrap | White leader, white pad | Black elastic wrap |
| Sterile pad | 4 × 7 in. (10 × 18 cm) | 4 × 7 in. (10 × 18 cm) | 6 × 9 in. (15 × 23 cm) | 6 × 7 in. (15 × 18 cm) |
| Length (manufacturer figure) | 63 in. (160 cm) unstretched, with pad | 145 in. (370 cm) elastic wrap | 65 in. (165 cm) unstretched, with pad | 145 in. (370 cm) elastic wrap |
| Safeguard case | 150 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| NSN | Cold-weather version 6510-01-660-2969 | 6510-01-460-0849 | Cold-weather version 6510-01-659-8340 | 6510-01-492-2275 |
| evidence-based standard | No | No | No | No |
First Responder figures from PerSys Medical product sheets;3,15 military figures from Safeguard Medical;14,17 case sizes from Safeguard Medical.4,14,16,17 Cold-weather NSNs from DLA.10 The evidence-based device list has no pressure-bandage category.2
Build the system
The tourniquet and gauze that come first, the single military 4 in., the 6 in. First Responder case, a chest seal, a wrap, a trainer and a kit.
Questions buyers ask
Package & specifications
Specifications coming soon. Contact us for detailed product information.
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