Are 'first responders' in emergencies trained enough?
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Are 'first responders' in emergencies trained enough?

The disaster management cell of Noida organised a workshop today on earthquake and flood response, search and rescue and causality handling for the three emergency departments of fire, traffic and police.

Are 'first responders' in emergencies trained enough?

Today, the disaster management cell of Noida organised a workshop on earthquake and flood response, search and rescue and causality handling. It was attended by officials of the fire department, the traffic department and the police of GB Nagar.

Around 150 participants took part in the drills and got training from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) cell.

The event was conducted jointly by Noida Authority and Shuttl, the rental AC bus service that operates across Delhi-NCR.

The programme was inaugurated by RK Mishra, additional CEO of Noida Authority; MP Singh, officer on special duty (OSD); Kuldeep Kumar, fire safety officer; and Shree Veer Singh of Shuttl.

During the inaugural speech, Mishra said, “Expect the unexpected and make yourself ready to respond in case of any emergency.”

To this, Mishra, OSD of Noida Authority, added, “Noida is highly vulnerable due to its geographic location and rapid industrialisation. Hence, we should organise similar types of workshops frequently with brainstorming sessions and mock drills to learn more about the art of casualty handling. Untrained casualty handling has claimed several lives on the Indian roads, and therefore, the matter needs attention.”

Shikha Sharma, planning officer of Noida disaster management cell, explained to City Spidey: “Personnel from these three departments are usually the first responders in case of any emergency, hence they should know how to respond, how to react and how to coordinate with other departments.”

Interestingly, the participants were also taught to deal with day-to-day stress for effective performance.

A specialised trainer from Shuttl, Reena Sarin, trained participants to handle every day stress, such as traffic, while responding to an emergency.

Light was also thrown on locations, such as a few government buildings and schools, where evacuees could be taken for immediate shelter. Emergency communication technologies, a few of which are at the development stage, were also discussed.

Plans are afoot to conduct such workshops at high-rises, informed planning officer Shikha Sharma