| Editor’s note: Jeffrey Lindsey’s series on training for rehab is built on a course lesson plan, which gives the instructor all the ingredients for a successful training session. You can read the lesson plan here, and over the coming months, Lindsey will build upon it to create a comprehensive program. |
When training your personnel to perform rehab, it is important to spend some time discussing the logistical necessities for rehab. There are four major requirements:
• area for rehab
• incident commander responsibilities
• shelter requirements
• multiple rehab areas
Training on each of these will work to establish a well thought-out rehab plan.
Area for rehab
Finding an area to establish rehab may be challenging. A perfect area that is suitable and meets all needs for the rehab sector may not always be available. Training can play an integral part in personnel selecting the most ideal location to establish the rehab sector. One method is to go out to different areas of your district and take photos of different settings. Be sure to include various residential, commercial, and residential sites. Many areas will offer some of the same characteristics so be sure to get a variety of different settings. The photos can then be inserted into your PowerPoint interactive lecture on rehab to begin a discussion on the best location for establishing the rehab sector.
The first part of the discussion should focus solely on locations of where to establish the sector.. Most fire departments have map books or pre-plans of various buildings. This is a great time to pull those out and utilize them for discussion points of where to locate the site. The whole purpose behind this part of the training is to get personnel to begin to think about where to establish the site and the requirements for establishing the site.
Incident commander
The incident commander has the ultimate responsibility for establishing the rehab sector and for selecting and/or approving the site. The incident commander has many concerns and in most instances will look for input when establishing the rehab area. Personnel need to be educated and trained on identifying the best rehab area at an incident.
Personnel who are typically the incident commanders should also be part of rehab training. Depending on the structure of the department, that may be difficult to make work. Including them as part of the training delivery may be the most effective way to include them.
Shelter requirements
The weather can play havoc at an incident scene. Emergency responses happen at all times of the day and night and in all kinds of weather. Various weather conditions warrant various types of shelter requirements at the scene of an incident.
Regardless of whether you are in a predominately warm climate or a cold climate, personnel need to be trained for all temperature extremes. The weather tends to be ever-changing and no area is immune from extreme temperature conditions.
When dealing with conditions during hot temperatures, attention needs to be paid to creating a cool environment for the rehab area. Some agencies may have dedicated rehab units that can be used to adjust the temperature to the ideal temperature. In many cases this is not always possible. Personnel should be trained to cool firefighters in a variety of situations. Be creative. Allow personnel to come up with various methods to cool down.
There are a variety of commercial products available to create a cooling environment at the rehab site. There are coolers that have a fan that creates a cool mist environment. There are chairs that are designed to have cool water in the arms and the legs of the chair. During your rehab training be sure to incorporate any of the commercial items you have available, but also have personnel come up with other methods to create a cool environment.
In the same vein, a cold or wet environment can create a challenge for personnel. A dry and warm environment is critical for rehabilitation. Again, get the personnel in your class to come up with various methods to create a warm and dry environment. One critical element in creating a rehab area in a cold or wet environment is safety. Efforts need to be employed to watch any heating elements that are used at the rehab sector. There are a number of different heating devices on the market that can be used to create a warm environment.
Multiple rehab areas
Some incidents become very complex and spread across a large geographical area. Some incidents may involve a high rise complex. In this scenario there may be a rehab area on the outside of the building and a rehab area on a floor in the building. The incident may involve a large building where personnel are located in the rear of the structure and also in the front or another portion of the complex. A rehab area may need to be established in multiple areas. Wildland fires may also create a need for multiple rehab areas. Regardless of the incident, the possibility of needing multiple rehab is always present. Hence, you need to express to your personnel in class that there is a good chance at some point they will need to establish multiple rehab areas.
When discussing the possibility of multiple rehab areas in class there are a few areas to make sure you cover. First, have the participants identify the buildings or potential situations in their response area that would require multiple rehab areas. Second, discuss the resources needed to establish multiple rehab areas. Some jurisdictions may barely have enough resources to establish one, let alone multiple rehab areas. Additional resources may be needed from other departments. Finally, the importance of naming the various rehab areas needs to be stressed. Incident scenes can get very confusing. Identifying each of the areas is critical to maintaining accountability and organization on the scene.