First 5 Minutes Launches new ECO Training Programme?

First 5 Minutes has recently invested resources in revamping its training for

Emergency Control Organisations. If you are reading this article, you are probably a

member of an ECO in your organisation or someone you know is. What is an ECO? An

ECO (Emergency Control Organisation) is a person or persons appointed by the

Emergency Planning Committee (Persons responsible for documentation and

maintenance of an emergency plan) to direct and control the implementation of a

facility’s emergency response procedures. According to the Australian Standard on

planning for emergencies in facilities (AS 3745-2010), ECO members (Wardens),

including their nominated deputies, shall be trained to develop the skills and

knowledge necessary to undertake the duties set out in their emergency response

procedures.

Every year, we visit your facility at least 3 times to make sure that Wardens like

yourself are properly trained and competent to manage an emergency in your

organisation in the first 5 minutes when its most crucial. The ECO warden training of

First 5 Minutes (F5M) is designed to give participants the competencies needed to

perform well in their ECO. It is divided into 5 parts namely:

Chief Warden Training

Warden Training Year 1

First- Attack Fire Fighting

Warden Training Year 2 onwards

Evacuation exercise.

F5M has developed a training package based on a unique and simple methodology

R. E. A. C. T™ which enables wardens gaining the competencies they need to carry

out their duties in the ECO.

R. E. A. C. T™ stands for:

R – Respond to or Raise an Alarm

E- Examine

A – Assess

C – Control

T – Talk

The F5M ECO training 2011 consists of the following elements which will make our

training sessions more engaging, contemporary and exciting :

1. Short and informative PowerPoint Presentations

2. Video Clips

3. Audio Clips

4. Scenario Training

5. Quiz

6. Use of Props

Check out our new training programme the next time you are scheduled for one in

your organisation.

Emergency Scenario (Code

Yellow)

Imagine that you are a member

of an ECO working as a

receptionist in a bank. You

receive a letter from an

undisclosed source and it

appears that some white powder

is emanating from it. You have

not touched the letter yet as its

still in your in-tray. What do you

do next?

This is one of those situations

that people will normally refer to as ‘unlikely’ or the ‘will not happen to me’

situations. Unfortunately, though very limited, statistics prove that it can happen to

anyone of us. When it does happen, such an incident can cause large-scale panic

and chaos in the building that we work. Also, if not well managed, it can lead to

fatality. Imagine the normal reaction of people when they come across a letter as

described above? They will either touch it or smell it. You can guess the result if the

letter was really contaminated with a biological agent.

At First 5 Minutes, we specialise in training wardens like you to deal with such

emergencies when they arise. Our trainers are industry experts and they have been

themselves in the thick of the action at the coal face of emergencies on a number

of occasions. By raising the skills and competencies of wardens, we believe that

they will feel more prepared and confident to face life threatening incidents in the

workplace.

According to the Australian chemical, biological and radiological data centre in

Canberra, there are two basic forms of biological agents: bacteria/viruses, and

toxins. These agents comprise bacteria such as the famous anthrax and

pneumonic plague. On the other hand, toxins are poisonous substances produced

by plants or animals, and include examples such as botulism and ricin. Toxins and

bacteria are not contagious. However, viruses such as smallpox are contagious and

may be spread from person to person.

Characteristics of biological agents include the following:

No immediate effect. The symptoms take time to appear, from hours/weeks.

They must be inhaled or ingested. They do not penetrate unbroken skin.

They are adversely affected by weather conditions such as sunlight. Therefore,

they are more likely to be used at night or in enclosed areas.

Likely to be spread through the use of aerosols.

Symptoms include flu-like symptoms.

Unfortunately, there are no characteristic or immediate signatures of the release of

biological agents as they are usually colourless and odourless. A biological incident

can therefore only be determined on the basis of its effects upon the surrounding

area, and generally after a period of time.

In this day and age, biological and chemical agents may be disseminated in a

variety of fashions, including the use of letters or packages containing these

agents. When we think of the number of mails handled by any typical workplace in

Australia, the possibility of a biological incident suddenly becomes real.

At First 5 Minutes we have developed interesting, contemporary and engaging

training sessions that will not only deliver the background information you need to

manage such incidents but also teach you the ‘practical’ things you need to do to

keep yourself and your colleagues safe. The core of our session is based on a

simple yet effective methodology called R. E. A. C. T™ which you can easily recall

and use within the first few minutes of an emergency.

If you or your colleague receives a letter or package that is suspected to be

contaminated, your competencies you gained at First 5 Minutes will kick- in. You

will be able to instantly take control of the situation and react in such a way that

you will not only minimize risks to yourself but to all visitors and occupants on the

premises.

Emergency Wardens Australia (Find us on Facebook)

First 5 Minutes is pleased to announce the introduction of a Facebook page

(Emergency Wardens Australia) as a tool to exchange warden experience across

Australia and with industry colleagues around the globe.

Facebook is undoubtedly the most used social networking site worldwide. Recent

surveys show that Facebook has more than 500 million active users of which 50 %

log on at least once a day. Any user has an average 130 friends which make it the

fastest growing network online.

Australia is one of the countries in which Facebook is penetrating more rapidly. In

2007, there were an estimated 200000 Aussies on Facebook and today the number

is around 8.5 million.

The Emergency Wardens Australia network thus provides a great platform for

wardens like yourself to continue your learning even outside the training room. You

can interact with our trainers as well as fellow wardens around Australia. You can

share your positive experiences / success stories / lessons learnt / case studies /

achievements as wardens etc…

The Emergency Wardens Australia fan page supports:

Messages and post from fans and F5M

Links to news articles and other fan pages

Photos

Videos

Discussion boards

Slideshare (For displaying PowerPoints)

Events

And many more possibilities

How can you join? :

As a warden, we invite you to become a fan and join this initiative by following the

link below and click ‘Like’ once you reach there:

http://www.facebook.com/emergencywardens

You will be asked to sign in your Facebook profile by using your normal username

and password for Facebook. Once there, you can start by posting comments and

photos and do what facebookers do best.

See you there!

Click LIKE @ www.facebook.com/emergencywardens

Jay Ramanah| PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

Jay.ramanah@first5minutes.com.au