Everyone knows it is important to have knowledge about safety, but there are not many students who realize how big of a deal it is when it comes time for them to establish a career.
Many different careers require their employees to have common knowledge about these guidelines, but the ones that are directly related to public safety are sometimes where having this knowledge could count the most.
Carlos Cervantes extinguishes a fire for the Law and Public Safety class at the Career and Technical Center in Calhoun City.
Officer Mark Whitaker, Law and Public Safety instructor at the Vocational and Technical Center, enrolled his students into the Community Emergency Response Team classes in hopes that it would train them how to prepare for and be able to respond to emergency situations such as tornadoes, fires, and other natural disasters within their communities.
“In cases where immediate professional public service providers are unable to respond to an emergency very quickly, the individuals certified in this class educate common people in the community on how to take care of themselves until professional responders can arrive,” stated Whitaker.
In preparation for learning how to always be prepared, the students have learned the five different categories of fires and what type of fire extinguisher it takes to put it out
They have also learned how to respond to emergency situations and how to be prepared for them when they happen and have located all the circuit breakers, fire extinguishers, water shut-offs, and gas shut-offs in the Vo-tech building.
“I enjoyed participating in these projects because I believe it could truly benefit me in the long run,” said Isaiah Watkins.
“And plus, it never hurts to have a little refresher course when it comes to safety,” he said.
Whitaker also stated that, “As far as a career in law enforcement goes, it always good to know what to do because, as an officer, you are usually the first responder. When you are considered a first responder, most people will look to you when disaster strikes, and you must be able to react properly.”
In the near future, the classes will also be learning immediate medical care skills to go along with the rest of their training.