CARDS™ for Fire: Carefully Assess, Recognize, Deal, and Survive
Getting your fire department CARDS-trained is a must for all size fire departments.
The C.A.R.D.S Protocol allows personnel to Carefully Assess, Recognize, Deal with and, if needed Survive any potential conflict or ensuing violence that may occur at a scene, within a given legal framework.
After a recent session:
100% of participants felt safer after taking this course.
100% of participants felt that they would use the skills taught during the course.
Firefighters spend a good portion of their time training to safely enter buildings, fight fires, save and rescue people. On most calls, firefighters also need to interact with people- people who are often in crisis. Be it medical, MVI, domestic violence, drugs and alcohol, mental illness, firefighters need to learn how to better manage their interactions to ensure their safety and that of their team members.
When a call is “CARDed” it automatically activates certain responses and allows a department to uniformly respond in a higher state of awareness, with certain precautions.
Other calls are automatically “CARDed”- all calls being the result of violence, domestic disputes, presence of drugs and alcohol, large crowds to name a few.
In the C.A.R.D.S loop, participants learn about early threat recognition, advanced communication and de-escalation skills, “witness-obvious” behaviour, scene evaluations, approach techniques, strategical placements, cover and concealment, team work, mental models, threat removal, escapes and evasions, note taking, and much more.
Our “Emotional Wellbeing” chapter is designed to prepare personnel for the reality of day-to-day encounters with the public at large and methods to maintain healthy and safe interactions. We will share methods to help individuals discern in themselves and in their peers any OSIs (Operational Stress Injury) resulting from events witnessed or trauma suffered at a scene.
At JTFSecurity Group, our focus on teamwork and dynamics will further create stronger, safer and healthier groups.
CARDS can be incorporated within any agency’s existing Operational Guidelines, and can be integrated within a larger communication protocol and with other agencies if desired. The CARDS Protocol can be taught as a stand alone course or can be tailored to your specific needs.
To capture the full benefits of this training, your department’s responding roster should also take our Emergency Medical Services Safety & Survival Training (EMSSST), which is an eight-hour course taught by our team of certified instructor.
Other JTF Courses containing the CARDS Protocol: EMSSST, CAST, TravelSafe