CMA Report #8

Friday has come again and with it another busy day. I know there will be some of you who won't read this until later as you will be at the AGC Reunion.:) We should have fun.

I did get quite a bit done on my book this week. I am finally nearing the end of it. After thinking about it, I don't think I'll be able to get the exam copies out to people before Christmas. I still have to finish my part, then Mom has to read the 245 pages and put in her corrections, comments and suggestions. Then I have to take the 245 pages back to the computer to add, change and correct them. After that I have to get the layout to look okay and then print the copies. I am still trying to figure out which publishing house to use to publish it. Also, I am in need of an editor. Does anyone know of any?

But enough of my book and on to my report. There are not nearly as many pictures as last week.:) Enjoy!

CMA Report #8

Welcome to all of you who have joined me for this very last class of Joplin’s very first Citizen’s METS Academy. This class was a little different than the others as it was thrown together at the last minute so to speak because some of us insisted on one more class. The topics were Emergency Preparedness and Tactical Paramedics.

Arriving at class about our usual time, we discovered only Ed was there. Shortly afterwards, Mandy and Lynn came, followed by Paula and Roger. They had brought a large Thank You poster for Marc and the others who had assisted with the CMA. We all had to slip out and sign it. Frankie came and we headed to get our food. Marc had gotten a cake as well. Marie couldn’t come, and John and Stephanie never showed up though no one knew why.

Nice cake, huh?

While we were eating, we watched a slide show that Jerry had put together that day of pictures from the class. There were some pretty funny ones.

When we were finished, Marc had us introduce ourselves to Keith who is Joplin’s director of the Emergency Management something-or-other. He spoke about, surprise! Emergency Preparedness of all things. (Okay, so you really weren’t surprised.) I did find out some interesting things.

Did you know that the “tornado sirens” really aren’t tornado sirens? They were originally put up in the 1960s for nuclear warnings. Then someone decided to make use of them for wind warnings. They get turned on if the winds are 70 mph or if there is a tornadic storm.

Did you know that more people die from flooding than from tornados? That is because people can’t seem to keep from driving over low water bridges that are covered in water and they get washed off them. (So, those of you who drive, I myself am excluded, don’t drive over places where you can’t see the road because of the water.)

Did you know that Joplin had a shelter (It is the police station and jail now.) that had enough food and water for 130 people for thirty days? We wondered how they decided which 130 people got to be there.:)

Not only did Keith talk about natural disasters, he talked about hazardous disasters. Those are mostly from trucking accidents while transporting chemicals. Did you know that one of the scariest trucks with chemicals is a Wal-Mart truck? I didn’t know that. The reason is that they can be transporting hundreds of Coleman lanterns, and as they are separate with each one holding only a gallon of fuel, they do not have to be labeled as hazardous. (Hmmm, that is interesting.) Also, the smaller the truck is, the more dangerous the stuff being transported is.

There was quite a bit of talk about people who, when the sirens go off, go get the camera to take pictures and then load them onto the Internet instead of taking cover. Also the fact that many times the sirens don’t go off until the storm is on you because of how long it can take to get the warning out. I didn’t mention that sometimes we don’t even bother going to shelter as we have no basement. (Don’t tell anyone that.)

After Keith left, Scott got up. He told us he wasn’t supposed to be the one to talk, but the other guy got called out. He is a “tactical paramedic.” (Ever hear of one of those before?) He explained that they are the paramedics who go with the SWAT teams every time they go somewhere. (If you didn’t get to read about the SWAT teams and would like to, let me know and I’ll send you the report of it.) He said that they get about forty hours of training. They have to learn how to start an IV in the dark, find and bandage bullet wounds in the dark, disarm wounded police officers without getting shot in the dark, as well as make the guns safe. (Sounds rather hard to me.)

“Imagine trying to get a gun away from a fallen officer. In the first place he is going to be ready to shoot anyone who comes near him, and second it is usually dark and he can’t see you well. You have to disarm him and convince him that you are going to help him. You also have to convince him that the only thing you are going to do with the gun is make it safe. You aren’t going to shoot anyone with it.”

The reason they have to do everything in the dark is because even just a little light is a perfect target and only calls for shots.
Scott showed us a You-Tube video of SWAT team training. Talk about intense! He said that when they go into a building or anywhere, he will have two guys in front of him and two guys behind him. He said that was nice as they form a shield around him. They get shot at first. When he gets called, (he showed us that night’s message he had received) he first has to go to METS to get his supplies and his ambulance. Then he goes to the police station where they have a meeting of what they are going to do. He also gets his bullet proof vest, helmet, gas mask and such. He never carries a weapon. He will either drive his ambulance if there are a lot of guys going (then there will be more than just one or two paramedics), or he will ride in the van with the rest of the SWAT team. He told us the hardest things for him would be if they were going somewhere and he saw other victims needing help and he couldn’t stop to help them. He has to stay with the SWAT team. We were told that the most common problems they have are officers who have heat exhaustion. (I would too with over 100 pounds on, plus full head to toe clothing and especially in summer!)

Scott did tell us that one time they were going to a house and his group was sent around behind. They were approaching the house, and no one had noticed the low cement foundation of an old house until the front two guys suddenly both tripped and fell flat. The last two couldn’t help laughing.:) We were alsoreminded again of how well the snipers can hide. I really think I would like to see them, or try to see them anyway.

That was about all Scott had. Marc thanked us for coming to the class, gave us our certificates, and Paula gave him the Thank You poster.

I finally got a picture of Marc!

Marc assured us that it would be put up on one of the walls in that room. Then we all headed out to the bay to take some group pictures.

BR: Me, Paula, Lynn, Frankie, Mandy
FR: Dad, Roger, Ed

It was too bad we were missing three of our classmates as well as Jason, Ike and James. They were all on call. But we got Marc and Jerry with us.

Jerry is the middle one and Marc is on the end
Talk about strange instructors.

We all stood around and talked for a while before heading home. It was only 8:15.
And that brings the Citizen’s METS Academy reports to a close. I hope you have enjoyed them and perhaps learned a thing or two. This has been Rebekah reporting for your benefit. Until another Citizen’s Academy, thank you for joining me.


I received a comment begging me to please post Part 10 of "Meleah's Western." I have it ready and waiting, so be sure you come back next week to read it.:)