Basic Disaster Life Support

LucidResq

LucidResq

Forum Deputy Chief
Messages
2,031
Reaction score
3
Points
0
The local BNICE training center is offering this course free soon: BDLS.

Has anyone taken it? Is it worth the time?
 
How many different types of basic life support do we have to learn? Trauma, cardiac, disaster...I think it should all be common sense after taking the original EMT program. It sounds trivial to me.
 
LucidResq said:
The local BNICE training center is offering this course free soon: BDLS.

Has anyone taken it? Is it worth the time?
Click to expand...

Like most trainings, it was developed to serve a specific need. If you are planning on working with FEMA in an official 'declared emergency' they are giving priority to those with this particular training.

A friend in the Texas National Guard said they are requiring it of their volunteers.
 
I have heard of it but I have not seen it in my area readily available yet.
 
FEMA, or rather DHS, requires you take three courses on he ICS before helping on a incident, and no where have I heard them mention "Basic disaster life support". They require ICS 100, 200, and 700 for EMS providers. My company presently has the contract with FEMA to provide ambulance services to a disaster any where in the US. At every operation we have ambulances exclusively dedicated to this purpose.
 
My SAR team recently made the decision to require that all members have IS 100, 200 and 700... they're really easy online courses so it's no biggie. It's just going to be a pain in the *** to track everyone down and verify that they've completed the courses.

But about the BDLS course... I checked into it a little more and asked a few people about it... apparently it's OSHA approved as a Hazmat Awareness course, something else that my SAR team requires and I have therefore already completed. I've been told that it's pretty worthless for those who already know BLS and very basic Hazmat Awareness stuff (recognize it, don't touch/smell/taste it, use the ERG, get everyone away from it, and call for Hazmat).

Apparently it's being offered free on a frequent basis because the DNC is coming to town in August.
 
daedalus said:
FEMA, or rather DHS, requires you take three courses on he ICS before helping on a incident, and no where have I heard them mention "Basic disaster life support". They require ICS 100, 200, and 700 for EMS providers. My company presently has the contract with FEMA to provide ambulance services to a disaster any where in the US. At every operation we have ambulances exclusively dedicated to this purpose.
Click to expand...

Apparently this is new. According to my friend in the guard, its something they are going to offer to those in the disasters. If you have the training ahead of time, it can speed up the amount of time it will take to get you actually deployed.

During Katrina, my husband spent almost 2 weeks of his month and a half of disaster relief effort, getting training at a FEMA facility in GA. The intent is that this training may speed up that delay.
 
Thats something new to me Bossy, thanks for sharing. Ill let it slip, working for AMR, we run strike teams to disasters, and we are trained to FEMA's standards before we even get out into the field working our own local operations. That way, we are good to go in the event of a disaster. I have not taken Basic Disaster Life Support yet but perhaps its something in the works. Again it sounds a littler trivial to me, but who knows.
 
Just spent the day in BDLS as it is required for the DNC. Same as the BNICE class I took a few years ago with the addition of putting HAMR suits. Not the best time spent.

Egg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top