Tomas Sumbrera
Firefighter, East Pierce Fire-Rescue

About a year ago, I was transfered to a different station across our fire district. This meant a new crew, new officer, and new demographics. As I was trying to fit in and work on team dynamics, I realized that my new crew lacked on scene safety habits. For example, one of the paramedics on the crew ran inside to be first on the scene and started the patient care before we even gathered our equipment. Other times, on “domestic violence” calls we would trust only one police officer for our safety on scene without even scanning the house for threats. I knew I had to implement EMSSST training for our safety – especially C.A.R.D.S. loop. It had been almost two years since I took the initial training; however, the knowledge I inquired during this training stayed with me and helped me throughout my carrier. My crew grasps the concepts of care- ful assess, recognize, deal, and survive and today we look out for each other. Thanks to the EMS.S.S.S.T Training, which in my opinion is capable of helping every public service department, I am better prepared to deal with emergency scenes, short stresses meanwhile retaining my professional composure. I would recommend this training to anybody who wants to provide better and safer service.