Jackson teachers, administrators learn to cope with disasters

JACKSON, Mo. -- Emergency volunteers clad in hard hats and thick gloves worked frantically to free two victims caught beneath plywood and sandbags.

Nearby, a fire suppression team used extinguishers to combat 10-foot-high flames while triage workers began the solemn task of sorting through bodies in search of life.

The Community Emergency Response Team training session at Jackson High School was a real eye-opener for the 90 teachers and 13 administrators who attended.

"It makes you think: Be prepared," said Becky Daume, a family and consumer science teacher.

The group spent Aug. 8 and 9 gaining firsthand experience in disaster procedures from CERT trainers with the American Red Cross, the Cape County Health Department and the Cape Girardeau and Jackson fire departments. The "victims" under the debris were dummies; the triage "victims" were people randomly assigned medical states to act out.

"There are things we can do immediately to help people. Many times, you don't have to be a doctor or an EMT to help, but you do need a little training," said Buzz Thompson, CERT participant and principal of South Elementary.

According to CERT trainer Les Crump, who also serves as assistant fire chief with the Jackson Fire Department, there's a great need for disaster preparation in school districts.

"During a disaster, emergency response workers will be outnumbered. The concept behind CERT is to train lay people so that we'll know we have trained people to handle an emergency situation," Crump said.

Eric Evans, a CERT organizer and emergency management specialist with the University of Missouri's Fire and Rescue Training Institute, said that the Jackson district is the first in Missouri to implement districtwide CERT training.

Preparation critical

The disaster preparation training is critical because most rescues immediately following a disaster are performed by those unhurt people standing around, he said.

"Oftentimes, people trying to help end up hurting themselves because they don't have the proper training," Evans said.

That's where CERT comes in. It gives people the necessary skills to help during a disaster situation and ensures they won't hurt themselves in the process, said Evans.

"The skills they learn during the two-day training session really will make an impact if something happens at their school," Evans said.

The CERT approach to learning is simple -- tell them, show them, then they practice.

Thompson and several other trainees said the most beneficial part of the sessions were the hands-on activities like using a fire extinguisher to put out a diesel fire.

"There are a lot of folks who have never used a fire extinguisher before," Thompson said. "The exercise that we're doing now may look simple, but you don't want to waste time reading directions when it's a real fire."

Assistant high school principal Vince Powell played a major role in implementing the CERT program in the Jackson school district.

"The reason we're doing this is for the safety of our kids and to improve the school district," Powell said. "Everyday citizens who are awaiting help after a disaster can perform life-saving techniques."

Powell said he hopes to see all 300 faculty members eventually take part in the training.

cchitwood@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128