Dealing With Disasters™ - Training

Onsite Classes

Emergency First Aid

This course reviews the basics of emergency first aid including assessing the situation, treating the injuries and the subsequent shock. This is a hands-on class that includes bandaging, creating stretchers, and conducting the one minute triage method, called START, that is used by professional emergency responders. Rescue breathing and CPR is reviewed, but not included, unless specifically requested, because of the length of time required to finish the certification. The psychological effects on the staff and students are also described for each age category with helpful suggestions for staff and parents.

Safety and Security and Special Needs Populations

Learn how to turn off the gas, water and electricity in this class. Other topics include traffic control, filling sandbags, identifying hazardous materials, biological and chemical agents, and learning the appropriate response to each of those situations. Evacuation plans and sheltering-in-place are discussed. Suggestions for assisting special populations such as day care centers on campus, mobility impaired students, and special needs students are shared. Solutions to specific campus challenges are addressed during the question and answer period.

Search and Rescue

This is an intensive hands-on light search and rescue course that provides the knowledge and skills that all staff members should have, not just the assigned search and rescue team members. The class begins by describing the appropriate clothing and equipment needed to perform the tasks. A pictorial overview of building construction types sets the scene for the steps the team should take in assessing a building, properly entering the building, searching, finding, treating, and moving victims. The class culminates with an in-the-dark exercise complete with screaming victims and challenging situations to solve as team members. This class always receives rave reviews for realism and practical skill building.

Incident Command System (ICS) Training

The Incident Command System (ICS) is a disaster management program that has been used by the Fire Services for decades in responding to major fires and has been adopted by the State of California and the federal government as the standard for emergency response and recovery. Your School Emergency Plan should be written in an ICS format and your staff should be trained to respond in the ICS position structure to qualify for state and federal funding. This class will use the Dealing With Disasters Training Program to provide a fun and interactive way to approach position responsibilities and potential disaster scenarios that could affect your school. The training sets the scene for understanding the School Emergency Plan and preparing staff for Drills and Exercises using ICS.

Your 15 Minutes of Fame…Are You Ready?
(Public Information Officer Training)

Do you think of the media as a friend or foe? We all have two choices when it comes to the media: tell our story, or let someone else tell it for us! This hands-on multi-media class provides an overview of the types of media available to organizations, including News Services, Radio, Television, Print, Internet, and more. We discuss establishing rapport with the media, planning press conferences, sharing sample news release, and allowing the media access at emergency scenes, The class will provide you with an extensive list of crisis interview tips and a take-home pocket “Interview Survival Guide” to dealing with the media in stressful situations. Each class member will have the opportunity to be video taped in a simulated television interview with group feedback on your performance. This is a must class for anyone that may be the spokesperson for their organization or who has the Public Information Officer (PIO) position in their Emergency Plan. It is better to practice in a safe, supportive environment for your first time, rather than on the air!