Data from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory charged particle measurement experiment aboard IMP 8 was used to study solar flare events and find correlations between soft X rays (4--17 ¿) and particle events. The results show that a greater probability exists of observing a proton event if the observed soft X ray flare has a relatively large decay time. It is also found that the H&agr; brightening area is a good indicator of the strength of the soft X ray burst. Results also show that the strength of the soft X ray burst can be used to estimate a probability that a proton event will occur, along with the strength of that particle event.