IRT training round-up: May 1-3

A summary of each International Response Team training weekend will be brought to you by one of the trainees. For May, Henry MacPherson offered his thoughts...

THIS was our second training weekend since selection, providing the opportunity for us all to test out new bits of kit and pick up new skills. This weekend I was testing the use of Huel instant meals and a new shiny tent (more on that later).

We arrived on site at 20:00 on Friday where we then set up our Base of Operations (BoO). Following the same approach taught previously along with our personal tents, I proudly set mine up in the two seconds advertised by the major retailer I purchased it from!

We then gave presentations on natural disasters, a task assigned to us at the last training weekend. We had presentations ranging from hurricanes through to earthquakes with a diverse approach to presenting including demos with Jenga, handmade skyscrapers, and more. I certainly need to improve my storytelling having seen some of the other presentations on offer.

After organising the stag for the night (those who would be on watch and at what time) we all enjoyed some rest (apart from those waking up throughout the night!). On Saturday we began with a mock disaster recovery exercise which showcased the importance of an organised and well functioning operations room. It became clear very quickly how easy it is to lose track of information and also the complexity in dealing with multiple teams/individuals from other bodies (think local government, UN rescue organisation etc) - especially when one person is playing the role of all different teams and individuals...

Following this we learnt more about what to expect when deploying, how to ensure we are always prepared and how to help run an operations room. We then spent the afternoon assisting with some tasks on-site; fully clearing an old science lab on the third floor to a skip is never an easy feat. Finally, we relocated the BoO as the original site was required the following morning. It was at this point I confidently tried to put my tent down, only to find that one of the poles had snapped and I was now destined to sleep in the communal tent - turns out my purchase was a very expensive single use tent!

That evening we discussed future water training sessions, with the opportunity in November for all members to become water accredited. I think we are all looking forward to this, although I am certainly unsure why this needs to be in November and not in the summer...

After a shuffle of the stag we enjoyed some rest and spent the Sunday morning learning more about ops rooms and then assisted with more on-site tasks (emptying another classroom up the hill rather down it this time) and then dismantled the BoO. We then began discussing our new ops room and how to set it up over the next few months. This was followed by a debrief before we all went home. A very good weekend with lots of information to absorb and new skills learnt. Overall I would give my tent a 1/10 and my Huel an 8/10 - now time to go find a new tent!