These colleagues keep you safe: ‘Being an emergency responder is useful outside of work too’
Do you know what to do if a rubbish bin catches fire, a student takes ill or a colleague falls off their bike? Our emergency responders do. They are ready to evacuate buildings, fight fires and offer first aid. Why not join the team?
Henk Kern, assistant professor at the Institute for History
‘I’d never have thought of becoming an emergency responder if I hadn’t been asked to. As an academic, I didn’t really think emergency response had much to do with me or that it was one of my tasks like teaching or conducting research. But it is about being a part of something bigger: a community of students and academic and support staff who share a building or campus where we take it for granted that things run smoothly. If something does go wrong, it’s useful to have people who can help.
‘Although I’ve never had a resuscitation or big fire, I have helped people who had fallen or students who had taken ill. Apart from that, my emergency response experience mainly consists of the exercises, which are fun as well as useful. Now if I’m teaching and the alarm goes off I know exactly what to do. First aid training can come in handy outside of work too, for example if someone falls off their bike. And it is definitely thanks to the emergency response team that I now have a fire extinguisher and blanket at home.’
Henk’s safety tip: ‘Make sure you know where the emergency exits are. Some university buildings are a bit of a maze, which makes it easy to become disoriented in an emergency.’
Ilse Kamerling, lab assistant, Archeobotanical Studies
‘For me, it’s important to know what to do in an emergency so I can help others. That’s useful not only at work but also in everyday life. And if I can learn that here and make myself useful at the same time, why not take advantage of that? As an emergency responder, the biggest investment is when you first start out because you receive a lot of information during the basic training. Once you’ve done that, you update your knowledge in refresher courses and exercises. As we work in labs at our faculty, we also practise with special washes for if people get corrosive chemicals on their skin or in their eyes. Luckily I’ve never had to use them in real life but if things do go wrong, it’s good to know what to do.
‘The incidents I’ve helped with vary from evacuating buildings in a power cut to treating wounds after a bike accident. I’ve also stayed with someone with heart problems until the ambulance arrived. In the majority of cases it’s mainly about reassuring people. It’s usually not as bad as it first seems.’
Ilse’s safety tip: ‘Always try to think about your surroundings so you yourself are not a safety risk. This can me really small things like a laptop charger cable dangling between your desk and the wall that people can trip over.’
Jolanda den Heijer, Study Adviser at the Institute of Education and Child Studies
‘I just really enjoy being on the emergency response team. If a new colleague starts in our team, I automatically step into my role, showing them the emergency exits and explaining what to do if the alarm goes off. As a team leader I have the additional challenge of keeping track of everything during evacuations. What part of the building has already been evacuated? Where are the victims? The adrenaline shoots through your body. But my favourite part is the firefighting exercises: they are always a bit nerve-wracking because you are working with real flames – obviously in the presence of a real fireman who can immediately put the fire out again.
‘Personally I’ve never found combining the emergency response team with my work difficult. And I also think it’s a really nice, relaxing way to get to know people from other departments. It’s made my world bigger, and you are strong together. So I would say have a coffee with an emergency responder from your building. Or ask if you can come along sometime so you can see for yourself how much fun it is – and that it is definitely not scary. Because your own safety always comes first. Where there’s smoke there are no emergency responders.’
Jolanda’s safety tip: ‘Unplug your charger when the battery is full. And always keep the escape routes clear.’
Want to become an emergency responder?
Would you like to sign up as an emergency responder? You’re more than welcome to join the team.
Be aware that to keep your emergency response diploma, you will need to take part in at least six internal exercises per year. This will take up to 12 hours annually. The exercises are spread throughout the year and you will receive a list well in advance so you can schedule them at a time that suits you. You are also expected to regularly work on site. The university needs more emergency responders on Wednesdays and Fridays in particular. You will receive an annual gross allowance for your work as an emergency responder.
Interested? Or would you prefer more information first? Contact your faculty’s emergency response coordinator.
Text: Evelien Flink