What is basic life support that's provided on the ambulance?

Basic Life support (also known as BLS) is the management of airway, breathing and circulatory emergencies. For example, a person trained in BLS knows how to safe open a patients airway if it is occluded, how to provide rescue breaths for the patient who is not breathing and how to perform cardiac compressions to a patients whose heart has stopped breathing.

The BLS provider also is educated in how to use a automatic defibrillator in the event of cardiac arrest and how to clear an obstructed airway if a patient was chocking.