TRAINING RESCUE WORKERS

1. Local police and fire stations should have lists of locations where disabled people live in concentrated numbers such as: senior housing, Section 8 buildings, and board and care facilities. Lists need to be updated annually and shared with field rescue personnel during an emergency.

2. If police and fire departments decide to have registries of disabled people, both the departments and the people on the registry need to understand the limitations of a registry:

   a) it only helps people who are home at the time of the disaster,
   b) it does not identify any disabled person who visits or works in the area at the time of the disaster, and
   c) it is always out of date.

1. Train personnel to regard a disabled person as the best expert in his or her disability and to ask a disabled person for advice before lifting or moving that person.

2. Train personnel to take extra time when communicating with people who are deaf, hearing impaired, or speech impaired.

3. Train personnel to never separate a disabled person from his or her assistive aids: wheelchairs, canes, hearing aids, medications, special diet food, urinary supplies, etc. Also, a service animal, usually a dog, is an assistive aid used by some blind, deaf and mobility impaired people.

4. Train personnel to realize that a disabled person's equipment may not be working after a disaster occurs, or it may be insufficient for emergency circumstances.

5. Train personnel to realize that a disaster may temporarily confuse service animals and they may not be able to help their owners as effectively as before the disaster.

6. Train rescue workers to know that some individuals with emotional and developmental disabilities may be too unsettled to respond appropriately to instructions and directions, such as a public address announcement to evacuate a building. Some disabled individuals may need to be in a quiet place for a while to regain their composure; others may even try to hide from rescue workers.

7. Train personnel to realize that some individuals with significant mental or learning disabilities might not understand the significance of "Keep Out" signs and barricade tape.

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