John, Wrvs Emergency Services Volunteer – ‘training Was Crucial for Me’

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I have been an ES volunteer for a number of years and have been called out to two high profile emergencies, the first being the Grayrigg rail disaster in February 2007 and the second helping in the aftermath of the fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007. Both incidents were obviously harrowing, we all saw the scenes on the news but as an ES volunteer I was immersed it in. My role was within the inner cordon area helping to feed the police and the fire service. On both occasions it was a shock when I was actually in the action, helping out, witnessing the drama first hand but the training that I received really put me in good stead and I remained calm and collected throughout my shifts.

Being a WRVS volunteer is unlike most volunteering opportunities. By its very nature it’s sporadic, there are no set hours, there’s no regularity, I could be called out at any time of the day or night and asked to help in a number of ways. So the training that I received was crucial, it gives you practical knowledge but because training is on-going it keeps you connected, it may be months or even years between call outs.

When I first joined and met Derek, my local WRVS manager, he reiterated the belief that practise makes perfect and I was told that I would be invited to regular training sessions. The first of these was my foundation course, this was a seminar-based session, I met many volunteers and together we were introduced to the organisation and given basic hygiene and health and safety training. Since that first session my training has continued, I’ve had further group training sessions and learnt more practical knowledge about rest centre management and evacuation procedures, so I really do feel well equipped should the phone ring at 2am!

Although our group training sessions have been invaluable another aspect of the training programme, is our emergency exercises. There is no better way to learn than actually being there and doing it, which is why WRVS carry out a number of exercises for their volunteers as part of their training. These exercises can vary in size, they can be as low key as the volunteers getting together and cooking outside from scratch, so we can practice getting food and drinks prepared at speed for the blue light services. Other exercises I’ve been involved in have been setting up and managing a rest centre, where we were shown the best way to register the people pouring in.

All of the training that I have received as a WRVS volunteer has been fun and informative and a great chance to meet some of the people that I may be working alongside. The training has given me a number of transferable skills that have not only helped me when I’m in action as a WRVS volunteer, but also in my general life and career.

As part of my responsibilities regarding Isle of Man Social Services planning, I attended a rest centre and emergency planning course at Easingwold Emergency Planning College in January and July 2007. My colleagues and I found these courses both interesting and informative and gave us a great insight into the work we needed to do in order to prepare for our responsibilities regarding rest centres.

As a result of our contact with Liz Redfern, who was facilitating the college courses, my colleague in civil defence and I arranged for Liz to come to the Isle of Man in June 2007 to provide rest centre manager training, over a three day period, for groups of social services and civil defence staff. The feedback from staff was very positive and engendered a great deal of enthusiasm for their continuing involvement in this area of work.

The vast range of knowledge and experience of the WRVS staff providing the training and the wide range of work undertaken by WRVS as an organisation impressed everyone involved. I don’t think any of us had realised the full extent of the work carried out by WRVS.

Following on from this training, and subsequent recruitment of volunteers, we ran a large rest centre exercise in April 2008. Liz Redfern kindly agreed to attend as an observer. Her feedback from this has been invaluable in further developing and refining our plans.

What impressed me about WRVS was that they had the personal experience of emergencies. I later learnt that WRVS support is written into 98 percent of all local authority emergency plans so they know what they’re talking about because they’re there and they’ve had the experience.