When You Need to Build Learning On The Go
(Mt. Pleasant, PA)- For fire departments searching for the latest innovation in mobile safety education technology, Mobile Concepts by Scotty developed the PREP (Plan, Respond, Educate, Prepare) House that has seen great success in communities around the nation.
This customized mobile classroom features portable technology that makes educating communities on several topics easier for fire departments. The mobility of this product enables departments to bring public safety education right where it’s needed most – to schools, senior citizens’ centers, hospitals and community events – to target high-risk populations.
The versatility of the PREP House also allows for personnel training in addition to community outreach. It has the classroom space departments need in which to conduct programs and expand into other vital educational arenas including:
- • Fire and life safety education campaigns
• Juvenile fire-setter intervention
• Arson prevention
• Natural disaster training
• Firefighter retention and recruitment
• CPR and AED training
• First Aid instruction
• EMT refreshers
• Augmented reality
Chris St. John from the English Consul Volunteer Fire Department in Baltimore County, Maryland, received funding through the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Program for the purchase of his mobile classroom.
As their ideas grew and took shape, the English Consul Volunteer Fire Department saw a mobile classroom as a valuable resource not only in community training, but also in firefighter/EMT recruitment and retention.
St. John customized his mobile classroom to include high-tech functions including high-speed internet hookups, laptop computers, a multimedia projector, audio-visual equipment, DVD capabilities, a wireless loudspeaker and a closed circuit camera system. Real-world training opportunities are not only available for the English Consul Volunteer Fire Department but also for the fire, police, and EMS personnel in his tri-county area.
The large open floor area has enough classroom space for a CPR mannequin and other training aids. This allows for minimal staff time for setup or takedown, which adds to the ease of use by instructors.
“Since many candidates come from the ranks of our Junior Fire Department, high school and vocational schools, it is impossible to put these young people in hazardous situations just to give them a sense of what lies ahead. We realized that in a high-tech mobile classroom, we could provide that taste [using virtual reality training],” explains St.John.
In addition to its use as a classroom, the PREP House can also serve as a mobile command post during man-made and natural disasters or as a medical triage center.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Fire Prevention and Safety Grants Program awards grants for equipment that will enhance the ability to protect the public and department personnel from fire, crime and related hazards.
St. John’s advice to any department seeking to purchase a PREP House using government funding is to first develop a list of requirements; then survey the technologies; “And write a good grant application.”
For links to more information about grant programs, visit the Mobile Concepts’ website at www.MobileConcepts.com