It’s a hard balance to create training scenarios that are realistic and at the same time minimize the threat to our rescuers. I suppose this is because the nature of rescue is dangerous. If it weren’t for dangers, we wouldn’t have been called in the first place. How often do we get calls on a perfect 75 and sunny day versus a day with sleet, snow, rain, high winds and zero visibility? So how do we balance the two, and create a training exercise that replicates real life, but doesn’t put our trainees in unnecessary danger? This largely comes down to the opinions and experiences of the trainer themselves.
There aren’t any professional rescuers who don’t realize the inherent danger in what we do. We all need to be on our guard at all times. As every emergency worker knows, situations can completely change in a heartbeat and we always need to be on our game.
So how
do we keep ourselves and our students safe during training exercises?
It’s a hard balance to create training scenarios that are realistic and at the same time minimize the threat to our rescuers. I suppose this is because the nature of rescue is dangerous. If it weren’t for dangers, we wouldn’t have been called in the first place. How often do we get calls on a perfect 75 and sunny day versus a day with sleet, snow, rain, high winds and zero visibility? So how do we balance the two, and create a training exercise that replicates real life, but doesn’t put our trainees in unnecessary danger? This largely comes down to the opinions and experiences of the trainer themselves.
There aren’t any professional rescuers who don’t realize the inherent danger in what we do. We all need to be on our guard at all times. As every emergency worker knows, situations can completely change in a heartbeat and we always need to be on our game.
So how do we keep ourselves and our students safe during training exercises?