The Official RJWestmore Blog

While fires and earthquakes are common occurrences in America, tsunamis are not. But that doesn’t mean we’re without risk.

Like the unexpected tsunami that devastated Southeast Asia in 2004, the coastal United States could experience a tsunami in the future.

To keep you prepared for disasters of all kinds, RJWestmore has compiled the following information aimed at helping you stay informed about issues of life safety.

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Last week, RJWestmore participated in the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history, The Great Southern California ShakeOut, where we trained a group of commercial property managers on earthquake preparedness.

That day, millions of people in homes, schools, businesses, government offices and public areas all over southern California participated in the event to prepare themselves for the inevitable – a magnitude 7.8 or higher earthquake along the San Andreas Fault that scientists expect will happen.

As part of RJWestmore’s mission to “Save Lives Through Training,” we’re including links to earthquake preparedness resources on our blog this week, including information on the ShakeOut; the Drop, Cover, and Hold On! procedure; the Golden Guardian 2008 Exercise Series, from Governor Schwarzenegger and his Office of Homeland Security; and a great educational video from Preparedness Now, which is available below.

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We’re often asked if we really believe training can save lives. We do! And here’s why:

Training is one of the most important tools used to enhance employee performance. This is especially true in life-threatening situations like responding to a fire, earthquake, bomb threat, medical emergency or other natural or man-made disasters. Your ability to know what to do and react immediately with the correct response can save lives.

The key to successful training that has high rates of retention is to train staff broadly to understand goals and constraints of each emergency situation, rather than training narrowly to follow sets of procedures without thinking.

Bob Westmore is frequently quoted as saying, “Emergencies never read the plans written to address them.”  In other words, no two emergency situations are exactly alike. More intuitive training developed by RJWestmore and utilized on the RJWestmore Online Fire Life Safety Training System, increases retention rates by 60% to 200% while it teaches users to learn to recognize situations and adapt their responses as appropriate to achieve the safest outcome.

Proper response training is the only way to proactively prevent the loss of life in an emergency situation. We can help.

BE SAFE!

On this seventh anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks, preparedness in the event of a disaster has even greater importance to Americans.

As a society, we must be ready to handle – at a moment’s notice – emergencies in our homes, businesses and communities.

But it’s not just the ongoing threat of attack for which we should prepare. Natural disasters – such as devastating hurricanes, floods and earthquakes – and the outbreak of epidemic diseases all demand a plan.

“Those with the capacity and wherewithal to help themselves must do so in advance, so that in the event of an emergency, responders can first assist those who are unable to tend to themselves,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in a statement.

Throughout September, the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready Campaign – part of National Preparedness Month – highlights preparedness steps, including having an emergency supply kit, making a family emergency plan, and becoming informed about different types of emergencies.

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