Glendale News Press, CA
Jan 30 2009

An exercise in training

Preschool teachers prepare to become certified to be on a community
response team.

City of Glendale CERT Eric Indermill uses Ovsanna Cahvejian to show
teachers how to clear an airway during emergency preparedness training
at St. Mary’s Tufenkian Armenian Preschool on Thursday. (Roger
Wilson/News-Press)

By Zain Shauk
Published: Last Updated Friday, January 30, 2009 10:34 PM PST

She was supposed to be a disaster victim ‘ part of training exercises
Thursday and Friday at St. Mary’s Tufenkian Preschool for more than 80
teachers from Armenian preschools throughout Los Angeles County ‘ but
she was having fun playing the part.

Teachers learned to apply splints and bandages to injuries, along with
other skills, during the first of two days of training.

At the end of the program, the teachers will become members of the
Community Emergency Response Team, which has a certification based on
a set of national standards, preparing the group to aid emergency
workers during any disaster operation, said Tanya Gregorian, public
education coordinator for the Glendale Fire Department.

`The education that they’re getting here today is important,
especially for teachers,’ Gregorian said. `What better group to train
than the educators?’

Community members who have learned similar skills at training programs
nationwide can often be important contributors to disaster relief,
Glendale Battalion Chief Greg Godfrey said.

The Los Angeles City Fire Department turned to members of local
response teams for help during a fire in Sylmar in 2008, with 10
graduates of Glendale’s training program participating in relief
efforts there, Godfrey said.

The Red Cross also turned to response team members last year when a
hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas, with two Glendale
residents participating in that relief operation after taking lessons
here, he said.

Glendale Fire officials regularly teach the same material in a free
course offered to the public on Thursday nights, Gregorian said.

The city contributes $45,000 to pay for the classes, which have
trained more than 300 people, with another 400 scheduled to attend the
sessions this year, fire officials said.

The training program can make a big difference in providing extra
relief workers after an earthquake, fire, or other disaster, Gregorian
said.

`We don’t have enough firefighters to take care of everybody,’ she
said. `In the case of a disaster, we’re going to need help.’

Teachers on Wednesday had fun with some of the activities,
particularly when a hard hat fell off participant Ani Misserlian’s
head as she tried to spray a fire extinguisher at a propane-fueled
blaze.

She eventually succeeded, after an outburst of laughter dominated the
playground.

“I have [a fire extinguisher] at home, and I’m not using it, so I
don’t have any idea how it could open,’ she said of removing a safety
pin from the unit.

Teachers came from different schools of the Western Prelacy Armenian
Preschool group, with teachers coming from campuses in Pasadena,
Hollywood, Glendale and North Hills.

The schools decided to dedicate two full training days for the
emergency-preparedness exercises to help keep the teachers on top of
their safety skills, said Arsine Aghazarian, principal of St. Mary’s
Tufenkian Armenian Preschool.