This week's Monday Night Drill was a "Hazardous Materials Refresher" drill for our Firefighters and a "Lifting & Moving" drill for our EMTs.

The "Hazardous Materials Refresher" drill had our Vista Firefighters reviewing and refreshing the competencies that are covered in OSHA 1910.120 for the "First Responder Awareness and Operations Level Responders." This drill covered the signs & symptoms of a hazmat response, types of hazardous materials firefighters could see during an incident, how our Firefighters should respond to a hazmat incident and the type of equipment that would be used during a hazmat response. This training is part of our annual refresher training requirements from the occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) for hazardous materials that our Firefighters need to complete each year.

The "Lifting & Moving" drill had our Vista EMS personnel reviewing how to operate the electric-hydraulic stretchers, stair chair devices and a review of proper body mechanics when it comes to lifting or moving a patient. Both the electric-hydraulic stretcher and stair chair tools are crucial in safely moving patients from their homes, or other places of injury, to the ambulance. The stair chair is one of our most frequently used devices for patient packaging as it allows two members to traverse one or several flights of stairs with a patient on board, with ease. The tools covered in this drill, coupled with a variety of other lifting and moving devices, provide Vista EMS personnel with the best possible options to get our patients into the ambulance.

For more info on how you can become a member call: (914)-533-2727, email us at Info@VistaFD.org, visit https://www.vistafd.org/content/become/ or apply online here: https://www.vistafd.org/apply