GLEN JEAN, W.Va. — Over 350 scouts and participants will be getting a first-hand look at CPR training, swiftwater rescue, among other emergency preparedness demos this weekend to fulfill its motto of being equipped for anything.
The regional Boy Scouts of America’s council, the Buckskin Council, is going to be host to an Emergency Preparedness Event this Saturday, October 7 at the Summit Bechtel Reserve in Glen Jean.
The event will bring in a dozen different emergency service providers to introduce the scouts to action displays and demonstrations on a number of crisis-response topics.
Buckskin Council Scout Executive Jeffery Purdy said it’s a great way for people to learn how to be prepared, familiarize themselves with the emergency services available in the area, as well a way for young people to possibly get some insight for their futures.
“It’s also a great opportunity for young people to see what it takes to become an EMS provider in case they want to try and pursue that as a career,” Purdy said.
The demonstrators and presenters at the event will include: the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, WV Center for Threat Preparedness, the State Police, the National Guard, the WV Emergency Management Services, the National Weather Service, Raleigh County and Fayette County EMS, Health Net, WVU Medicine Thomas Hospitals, WV K-9 Services, WV Fire Marshal and a drone team.
K-9 Search and Rescue teams will conduct demos on how they use human scent to track missing people, in addition, there will be CPR and AED demonstrations, swiftwater rescue, first aid, incident command, among other presentations.
Purdy said the event is a reflection of the principle the boy scouts have been living by since it was founded in 1910 of always being prepared.
“We’ve always tried to instill that in our scouts to be prepared,” Purdy said. “First aid and safety have been a huge part of our training for young scouts, and it allows them to both help themselves and help others.”
Purdy said while this is the first time the council has actually organized a whole event around emergency preparedness, the topic is nothing new to the scouts, who have been earning first aid merit badges for over 100 years now.
However, having the opportunity to bring all of the different emergency service entities together was one Purdy said they didn’t want to miss.
“This is what we do anyway, but with our opportunities and our resources we were able to get county and state agencies to help us with this, and so that’s what is really cool about it as well,” said Purdy.
There will also be helicopters and rescue vehicles on hand for people to get a close look at, as well as aerial and underwater drones.
Check-in begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday with the first session getting underway at 9 a.m. The sessions will run approximately one hour and the last session will end at 5 p.m.
Purdy said people are still welcome to come and participate even if you had not pre-registered.