BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Interested in learning skills to potentially save lives?

Whatcom County EMS is holding a free course called “Stop the Bleed, Save a Life” to teach people how to stop life-threatening bleeding.

Uncontrolled bleeding is the number one cause of preventable death after injury in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Participants in the course will learn how to use their hands to apply pressure to a wound, how to pack the wound to control bleeding and how to correctly apply a tourniquet.

It’s being offered on Monday, March 4, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on 322 North Commercial St.

Spots are still open as of Feb. 23, though only 22 people can take the course.

Anyone interested can register on the county’s website or contact Whatcom EMS’s Steve Cohen for details at scohen@co.whatcom.us.