Fog City Guide

 I took the opportunity to be a victim for the San Francisco Fire Deparetment Neighborhood Emergency Response Team traiining session at Lick Wilmerding High School in May.

I remember clearly when I went through the trianing in 1994 and the last night you practice what you’ve learned. Well you try to remember what you learned as you go into a room that has been set up to look and sound as if a disaster had just struck.

I got to be a victim and you really learn more about triage when you are playing a role and others have about 10 seconds to figure out if you’re dead, dying or just have some ugly thing sticking out of your head.

The key to remembering how you decide quickly is a phrase that goes like this. Thirty – Two - Can Do.

If a person is breathing more than 30 times per minute they are in deep stress, pinch the finger at the nail and if color returns in 2 seconds blood pressure is good and can do, if the person can answer a simple question like how many quarters in a dollar.

If a person isn’t breathing then try to clear the air passage twice and then move on. The goal is to do the most for as many as possible in the shortest amount of time.