Awesome seminar.
We learned about the different roles of track workers (Flagging/Communications and Emergency response), their protocol for responding to incidents, and heard some free-form Q&A issues about recommended approaches for dealing with, and communicating about, situations.
In the afternoon we observed how the teams responds to different alert scenarios (car runs into barrier w/driver hurt; a 2-car crash), starting with flaggers' signals to the communicators, the communicators language and dispatch of response, and the emergency response team's actions. A big observation for me was how quickly (Thank God) it all happens. There were some mistakes and some steps missed by the scenario participants, but those were learning opportunities for everyone too.
While we didn't learn about the comprehensive set of hand and flag signals we did get to see the process put together in a high-stress situation. I think everyone who runs on a track competitively should go through a session on what these workers do, because I know I have a huge amount of respect now for what they all do.
We watched a demo of the response team extracting someone using the jaws of life tool, and I also got to put on a fireman's helmet & gloves, and use a fire extinguisher to put out a fire - the first time I've ever done that. That bottle was heavy!
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