First Responder Training
IBEW offers new service to community
Jerry DeBaca, left, explains the union’s First Responder Training program to people attending the Safety Fest in Dublin.
Police and firefighters are people we turn to for help in emergencies.
Most of the time, they are able to respond with the expertise needed to stop a crime or put out a fire. But if the emergency involves a downed power line or spewing gas, even these professional first responders may find themselves in over their heads.
Rich Lane thinks first responders could use a helping hand. And who better to provide it than IBEW Local 1245? After all, our members deal with electric and gas every day.
When Lane heard that Cal-OSHA and other organizations were getting ready to host a giant Pacific Coast Safety Fest, he decided it was the perfect time to test his idea. IBEW Local 1245 became a co-sponsor of the event, Lane set up a booth, and the Local 1245 First Responder Training Program was officially launched.
“A lot of people came to the Safety Fest to get training on how to comply with various state and federal safety regulations,” said Lane, a lineman and union leader at Turlock Irrigation District. “Between training sessions they visited the various booths set up by vendors with services to offer. We were one of those vendors and that’s how we began making contacts.”
A top supervisor for the U.S. Forest Service immediately saw the value of what the IBEW was offering.
“She had 8,000 employees,” said Lane. “She said, ‘You’re going to hear from us.’ ”
Gas Hazards
As a lineman, Lane knows about electricity. But natural gas, not so much. So he was glad to be joined at the IBEW Local 1245 booth by Jerry DeBaca, a long-time PG&E Gas Crew Foreman now working as a Gas Coordinator.
DeBaca estimates that about 150 people visited the IBEW booth during the three-day conference.
“We talked to guys from the Army,” DeBaca said. “We had a mail carrier come by, we had contractors working in subdivisions come by.”
DeBaca said the contractor he talked to didn’t see why he would need training on gas and electric hazards. It didn’t take DeBaca long to point out why he might.
“When you’re in a housing tract and you’re lifting tiles with a big forklift to the roof of the house and suddenly you’re encountering some temporary power lines, are you prepared to deal with that?”
Many of those visiting the booth watched the PowerPoint presentation Lane had prepared that illustrated some of the things that can go dramatically wrong when you’re dealing with gas and electricity. Just about everyone took the full-color brochure describing the union’s First Responder Training Program and how to get in touch with it.
“We also wanted people to know that we can tailor our safety presentation to community groups and schools. It’s not just for first responders,” said Lane.
Among the dozens of organizations, businesses and government agencies participating in Pacific Coast Safety Fest were:
- IBEW Local 1245
- Operating Engineers Local 3
- Pacific Gas and Electric
- Sacramento Municipal Utility District
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Coast Guard
- California National Guard
- U.S. Forest Service
- Safeway
Testing for Interest
The booth at the Safety Fest was a toe in the water for the new program.
“We’re testing for interest, trying to see if anybody is in need of this,” says Lane. But he’s pretty certain the interest is there. He previously put together a similar program with his employer, Turlock Irrigation District, and found there was a demand. He did trainings for the California Highway Patrol, local fire departments, and county sheriff departments, among others.
Lane and DeBaca work in dangerous occupations. They could just watch out for themselves and leave it at that. But like the union they belong to, they are committed to the principle that all workers deserve to come home safe at night, and they are prepared to devote time and energy to turning that hope into a reality.