Here's a nice study from the Scandinavian Journal of Trauma, Resuscitation and Emergency Medicine suggesting that even the smallest kids can be helpful when they've learned a bit of first aid. Researchers taught 4- and 5-year-olds a 5-finger rule:
1. Look at the person
2. Talk to the person
3. Touch and to try to wake them up
4. Call emergency services
5. Stay and give comfort.
The kids also learned to put a person in recover position and even to keep an airway open. When these kids were re-tested 2 months after their initial instruction, they were still able to recall the emergency number and to determine whether the victim was awake or sleeping and whether he/she was breathing. This doesn't surprise me. Kids tend to be fascinated by situations like this, comprehend the gravity of a situation, want to do the helpful, correct thing, and aren't necessarily completely grossed out by an unpleasant situation, as an older kid might be.
I like this article from About.com on teaching little kids how to call 911.
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