Bahamas Red Cross conducts in-house disaster preparedness training

It’s a typical Wednesday evening in the Bahamas and the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign goes up on the Bahamas Red Cross (BahRC) door. Why? It’s Training Night.

Every Wednesday for the past two months, BahRC staff and Disaster Preparedness Committee members -  a total of 28 persons – receive training in various aspects of disaster management at their headquarters.

“Fortunately for us we have had no recent disasters and that is one of the reasons we are concentrating so hard on training and all areas of preparedness,” said Diane Turnquest, BahRC disaster management officer.

The training is part of the Disaster Preparedness Program. "We have found it to be a great way to
partner with other agencies as we ask experts from different emergency areas to join our instructors for classes,” Turnquest added.

Recent sessions involved a member of the Fire Department for the fire identification and suppression course, and a member of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force visited to share their role in Shelter Management.

During the two-month period, work has also been done on revamping the BahRC warehouse including the setting up inventory controls, reducing overheads and maximizing space.