[nfb-talk] Emergency response training

[ckrugman at sbcglobal.net]

it sounds like interesting training. When I was doing counseling for the 
county mental health department I was assigned as part of my job to counsel 
inmates in the county juvenile hall. While management was aware that I was 
blind I was required to go through the same orientation process that new 
hires went through and this included the physical agility tests that were 
required. I also worked in suicide prevention and did outreach on the 
streets with homeless mentally ill populations and while it surprised many I 
was able to do the job successfully even to the extent of finding more 
clients than my bosses wanted found. good luck with the training.
Chuck
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "T. Joseph Carter" <carter.tjoseph at gmail.com>
To: "NFB Talk Mailing List" <nfb-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2011 12:57 PM
Subject: [nfb-talk] Emergency response training


>I have signed up to take Portland’s NET (Neighborhood Emergency Team) 
>training this fall.  It is Portland’s response to the national county-based 
>CERT program.
>
> Courses are divided up into eight weeks of training, the last of which is 
> a 4 hour final exam.  I know that the final exam includes putting out 
> fires, literally.  NET training is free (as is CERT), but about halfway 
> through the program you have to supply your own responder kit, which is 
> generally going to run between $50 and $200, unless you happen to have 
> certain items already on hand.
> Here’s an overview of the NET training:
>
> Session 1: Disaster Awareness—Earthquakes and Other Disasters; Home, 
> Neighborhood and Workplace Preparedness
>
> Session 2: Utility Control—Gas, Electric and Water; Fire 
> Extinguishers—Types and Uses; Hazardous Materials
>
> Session 3: Disaster Medicine (I); Treating Life-Threatening Injuries; 
> Medical Triage
>
> Session 4: Disaster Medicine (II); Treating Common Injuries; Setting Up a 
> Medical Treatment Area; Public Health Considerations
>
> Session 5: Light Search & Rescue (I); Visual Assessment of Damaged 
> Buildings; Search Techniques
>
> Session 6: Light Search & Rescue (II); Rescue Techniques; Patient 
> Transport
>
> Session 7: Disaster Psychology and Trauma Intervention; NET Team 
> Management; NETs in Action—Tabletop Exercise
>
> Session 8: NET Final Field Exercise (FFE), a four (4) hour hands-on 
> practical skill drill which could be morning or afternoon.
>
>
> Has anyone here ever taken training like this?  Am I blazing trails again? 
> Whether I am or not, I registered for this and the people who are doing 
> the training do not yet know that I am blind.  What sort of objections am 
> I likely to face, and how should I best address them?  I know I can learn 
> to do whatever I need to do.  I cannot say that it will be easy, but I am 
> determined not to be the guy sitting around waiting for someone to help me 
> if something bad happens, if you know what I mean.
>
> Since the above class titles are not that descriptive in and of themselves 
> of exactly what kind of things I would be expected to handle, I’ll 
> describe a typical NET responder kit as being safety equipment (a 
> reflective vest and hard hat, work gloves with leather palms, knee pads, 
> safety googles, and a particle filter mask), flashlight, signal whistle, 
> water/gas wrench, pry bar, utility cord, duct tape, and a first aid kit. 
> We’re expected to know how to use, but not carry a fire extinguisher.
>
> A "Deluxe" kit adds a Leatherman Kick multitool, ear plugs, a more serious 
> first aid kit, a roll of masking tape to go along with the duct tape, 
> several large plastic bags, a permanent marker, a lumber crayon, water 
> treatment tablets, glowsticks, rain poncho, solar blanket, and 8 hour 
> glowsticks.
>
> Construction site safety gear and tools aside, those who know me fairly 
> well can tell you that I’ve got most of what’s left on my person wherever 
> I go.  Boy scout motto and all of that.  Pfft, like I was ever a scout! 
> *grin*
>
> Anyway, advice is welcome.  Comments about my tenuous grip on sanity will 
> be ignored as redundant information!
>
> Joseph
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nfb-talk mailing list
> nfb-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for 
> nfb-talk:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-talk_nfbnet.org/ckrugman%40sbcglobal.net