REDCOM handles fire and EMS dispatch services for more than 40 agencies in Sonoma County. After the North Bay Fires, the Joint Powers Authority recently trained its dispatchers how to talk callers through deadly situations and help them survive long enough for first responders to arrive.
“Prior to the fires in October, there was no standardization how to walk somebody through a situation where they may be trapped by fire,” Executive Director Aaron Abbott told NBC Bay Area. “We worked with an international standards organization that helped us, through our case studies, develop a standardized way to walk someone through [and] giving them the best possible chance at survival.”
REDCOM Emergency Survival Tips:
- If you’re in a car trapped by flames, turn on your air conditioning and cover yourself with a blanket
- If you’re trapped in wild land while camping and find yourself surrounded by fire, dig a ditch, lay in a ditch, cover yourself with a blanket
- If you’re trapped by fire in any other situation, try to find a body of water such as a pond or a swimming pool to jump in.
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