School Safety: To Plan, or Not to Plan.........

Thanks, CB. Gonna make those suggestions on the facebook page I took these suggestions from.

Some pretty good information here on teacher preparedness without having to be armed with a gun, in my opinion:

http://www.urbanalarm.com/blog/active-shooter-k-12-teacher-prepare/

A long time ago, in a lifetime far, far away, I conducted training seminars in which we used the following exercise to try to help illustrate how difficult the decision making process can be. I'd like to thank Drop Step for triggering my memory of this activity when he provided his example of his daughter sailing around the world. I got to thinking what a great opportunity to show how preparedness/planning is something each and every one of us does every single day in virtually everything we do. Except most of the time, we do these things almost without thinking. When we send our kids off to school, we try to make sure they are dressed appropriately for the weather and that they have everything they'll need (homework, school supplies, etc.) in order to get them through the day. When we go to work ourselves, we try to make sure we have everything we'll need in order to do our jobs. And so it goes.

In this activity, called "Lost at Sea" (hence the reference to Drop Step's daughter), you'll be presented with a scenario and are being asked to respond appropriately. This scenario was actually developed and answered by the U.S. Coast Guard quite awhile ago. I have no doubt that with changing technology, some of these items have since been replaced with other, better pieces of equipment. That's not the intended point of the exercise, though. The intended point is to help to better understand that decision making, especially under pressure, may not be as easy as some of us would like to believe. Some of you may have already done this exercise. For those of you who have, please don't spoil it for others.

So, with that, here we go.

Lost at Sea: Imagine that you are adrift on a private yacht in the South Pacific. As a consequence of a fire of unknown origin, much of the yacht and its contents have been destroyed. The yacht is now slowly sinking. Your location is unclear because of the destruction of critical equipment needed for navigation and because you and the crew were distracted trying to bring the fire under control. Your best estimate is that you are approximately one thousand miles south-southwest of the nearest land.

Below, you will find 15 items listed that are intact and undamaged after the fire.

In addition to these articles, there is a serviceable, rubber life raft with oars. This raft is large enough to carry yourself, and the crew, but it is unclear at this time whether all 15 items will also fit into the raft. You will need to prioritize the items just in case some of them will need to be left behind.

Nothing else on the yacht was salvageable. A check of the crew reveals they have one package of cigarettes, several books of matches, and five $1 bills, nothing else.

The list: Assign a priority ranking to the 15 items below. Base your rankings on how important each item is to your own survival and that of the crew. Remember, it is unclear whether all 15 items will fit into your raft.

Place the number “1" by the item you feel is most important, the number “2" by the second most important, and so on through the number “15" which would be the least important.


Your Rank ITEMS

_________ Sextant

_________ Shaving mirror

_________ Five-gallon can of water

_________ Mosquito netting

_________ One case of U.S. Army C-rations

_________ Maps of the Pacific Ocean

_________ Seat cushion (flotation device approved by U.S. Coast Guard)

_________ Two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture

_________ Small transistor radio

_________ Shark repellent

_________ Twenty square feet of opaque plastic

_________ One quart of 160-proof Puerto Rican rum

_________ Fifteen feet of nylon rope

_________ Two boxes of chocolate bars

_________ Fishing kit

That's it. There's actually a second part of the exercise in which the crew tries to decide together what the priority should be, but, because we can't all get together to decide, we'll just go with part 1. Hopefully, it'll help make a point. Have fun with it.

You're welcome. I'll wait till a few more post their input to give the Coast Guard answers. Chocolate on the tongue, eh?

Oh, and SC, if you want to make it a little more interesting, try to get someone else to play it with you and both of you must come to an agreement on the prioritization in a very limited time frame (you're goin' down). In fact, the more the merrier.

For those who took the "test" and for anyone else who might be interested, here's what the U.S. Coast Guard says about the ranking priorities in the Lost at Sea exercise:

The basic supplies needed when a person is stranded in mid-ocean are articles to attract attention and articles to aid survival until rescuers arrive. Articles for navigation are of little importance. Even if a small life raft were capable of reaching land, it would be impossible to store enough food and water to subsist during that period of time. Therefore, the shaving mirror and the two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture are of primary importance. These items could be used for signaling air-sea rescue. Of secondary importance are items such as water and food including the case of Army C-rations. A brief rationale is provided for the ranking of each item below. These brief explanations obviously do not represent all of the potential uses for the specified items, but, rather, the primary importance of each.

ITEMS
Sextant: Of minimal use that far out to sea. (Rank 14-15)

Shaving mirror: Critical for signaling air-sea rescue. (Rank 1)

Five-gallon can of water: Necessary to replenish loss by perspiring. (Rank 3)

Mosquito netting: No logical use that far out to sea. (Rank 14-15)

One case of U.S. Army C-rations: Provides basic food intake. (Rank 4)

Maps of the Pacific Ocean: Worthless without additional equipment for navigation--it doesn't really matter where you are, but where the rescuers are. (Rank 13)

Seat cushion (flotation device approved by U.S. Coast Guard): If someone fell overboard, it could function as a life preserver. (Rank 9)

Two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture: Critical for signaling--the oil-gas mixture will float on the water and could be ignited with a dollar bill and a match (obviously outside the raft). (Rank 2)

Small transistor radio: Of little value since there is no transmitter (unfortunately, you are out of range of your favorite AM radio stations). (Rank 12)

Shark repellent: Obvious. (Rank 10)

Twenty square feet of opaque plastic: Utilized to collect rain water, provide shelter from the elements. (Rank 5)

One quart of 160-proof Puerto Rican rum: Contains 80 % alcohol--enough to use as a potential antiseptic for any injuries incurred; of little value otherwise; will cause dehydration if ingested. (Rank 11)

Fifteen feet of nylon rope: May be used to lash equipment together to prevent it from falling overboard. (Rank 8)

Two boxes of chocolate bars: A reserve food supply. (Rank 6)

Fishing kit: Ranked lower than the candy bars because “one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. There is no assurance that you will catch any fish. (Rank 7)

Those with survival training probably went through this a little faster than those without. Doing this exercise in a totally non-threatening environment was intended to help illustrate the nature not only of choosing those items that might be critical to one's survival in a time critical situation, but also to help understand why it might be helpful in surviving an emergency or disaster to have some of those items in a "bugout bag" prior to the emergency or disaster happening. There is plenty of information out there already on such "lists", including one provided by Marine on that other message board ( http://pinecam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=148141 ).

Hope this was at least a little bit of fun.

A new resource for school safety: http://www.campussafetymagazine.com/Page/School-Security-Command-Post.aspx

Interesting. No surprise that the CG looks at it as stay alive until WE rescue you.

I saw the plastic sheet as a potential sail.

ZHawke wrote: For those who took the "test" and for anyone else who might be interested, here's what the U.S. Coast Guard says about the ranking priorities in the Lost at Sea exercise:

The basic supplies needed when a person is stranded in mid-ocean are articles to attract attention and articles to aid survival until rescuers arrive. Articles for navigation are of little importance. Even if a small life raft were capable of reaching land, it would be impossible to store enough food and water to subsist during that period of time. Therefore, the shaving mirror and the two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture are of primary importance. These items could be used for signaling air-sea rescue. Of secondary importance are items such as water and food including the case of Army C-rations. A brief rationale is provided for the ranking of each item below. These brief explanations obviously do not represent all of the potential uses for the specified items, but, rather, the primary importance of each.

ITEMS
Sextant: Of minimal use that far out to sea. (Rank 14-15)

Shaving mirror: Critical for signaling air-sea rescue. (Rank 1)

Five-gallon can of water: Necessary to replenish loss by perspiring. (Rank 3)

Mosquito netting: No logical use that far out to sea. (Rank 14-15)

One case of U.S. Army C-rations: Provides basic food intake. (Rank 4)

Maps of the Pacific Ocean: Worthless without additional equipment for navigation--it doesn't really matter where you are, but where the rescuers are. (Rank 13)

Seat cushion (flotation device approved by U.S. Coast Guard): If someone fell overboard, it could function as a life preserver. (Rank 9)

Two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture: Critical for signaling--the oil-gas mixture will float on the water and could be ignited with a dollar bill and a match (obviously outside the raft). (Rank 2)

Small transistor radio: Of little value since there is no transmitter (unfortunately, you are out of range of your favorite AM radio stations). (Rank 12)

Shark repellent: Obvious. (Rank 10)

Twenty square feet of opaque plastic: Utilized to collect rain water, provide shelter from the elements. (Rank 5)

One quart of 160-proof Puerto Rican rum: Contains 80 % alcohol--enough to use as a potential antiseptic for any injuries incurred; of little value otherwise; will cause dehydration if ingested. (Rank 11)

Fifteen feet of nylon rope: May be used to lash equipment together to prevent it from falling overboard. (Rank 8)

Two boxes of chocolate bars: A reserve food supply. (Rank 6)

Fishing kit: Ranked lower than the candy bars because “one bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”. There is no assurance that you will catch any fish. (Rank 7)

Those with survival training probably went through this a little faster than those without. Doing this exercise in a totally non-threatening environment was intended to help illustrate the nature not only of choosing those items that might be critical to one's survival in a time critical situation, but also to help understand why it might be helpful in surviving an emergency or disaster to have some of those items in a "bugout bag" prior to the emergency or disaster happening. There is plenty of information out there already on such "lists", including one provided by Marine on that other message board ( http://pinecam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=148141 ).

Hope this was at least a little bit of fun.