Every day in the United States, more than 450,000 school buses transport over 24 million students. Even though most days pass uneventfully and children arrive at school and activities safely, bus drivers and children do sometimes find themselves in unexpected and dangerous situations. For example, in 2004 a school bus from the Bay City school District was rear-ended by a truck as students were loading. The truck caught fire as the bus driver and children evacuated the bus. Fortunately, this did not take long because only 17 students were on board. Shortly after everyone was off, the back window of the bus shattered, sending a fireball though the bus. Witnesses stated that the bus was totally engulfed in flames in 3 minutes! Emergency personnel reported to Central Dispatch; “2 miles from the scene, a lot of smoke visible!” Parents watched in disbelief. What if more children had been on the bus? How would they have gotten off?
It was this frightening event that led to the founding of the nonprofit organization The Unthinkable, Inc. which became a reality in the summer of 2005 and its members and volunteers have been working to increase bus safety since. Accidents, bus breakdowns, and especially terrorist activity can put the lives of the children and the driver at risk. It is critical for bus drivers, children and firefighters to all be trained the same so when an emergency happens everyone will know exactly what the other people will be doing. Such knowledge can prevent accidents and save lives. The Unthinkable, Inc. offers a variety of emergency preparedness training programs to fit your district’s needs. Our programs include:
Zero visibility Evacuation Procedure (Z-VEP)
The only safety training program of its kind, Z-VEP teaches transportation personnel what to do if a school bus catches on fire. Far from the rudimentary training bus drivers receive in their certification course, Z-VEP is a detailed, in-depth course that provides specific protocol for life-threatening situations. It prepares drivers to handle the worst emergencies they might face with composure and effectiveness. Trainees will have to opportunity to practice getting children safely out of a real bus filled with smoke and will leave the 8-hour training session knowing how to confidently handle such an emergency.
Terrorism Preparedness Training
This 8-hour training program is designed to teach bus drivers, aides, and transportation personnel how to protect the children in their district from potential terrorist activity and how to respond in emergency situations. The government has acknowledged that school buses are potential targets of terrorism, and this training provides information on how to prevent terrorism and protect the children. It also explains how to design Emergency Plans and provides instruction for how to react in the case of an emergency.
Safety Committee Training
The Safety Committee Training Program teaches interested school district members how to begin a Safety Committee in their districts. Topics in this 4-hour session include how to run a Safety Committee and what the group should do to increase the security and wellbeing of students in their school district.
Firefighter Training
This 4 hour training covers search and rescue, extrication and familiarization of school buses and their new safety features. This course is critical because it teaches the procedures the school districts will be utilizing. When an emergency happens, both firefighters and school personnel will be following the same procedures, maximizing safety efforts.
The Unthinkable, Inc. is the first and only organization to teach the Zero-Visibility Evacuation Procedure with the Zero-Visibility Bus simulation. Everywhere we have taught this procedure we have received an overwhelmingly positive response. We have gained the support of Michigan State Senator Jim Barcia, The Bay City Disability Services Resource Center, the Fire Department of Charter Township of Bangor, the Bangor Township Schools, and many community members, parents, bus drivers, teachers, administrators, and firefighters.
In a letter written after experiencing Zero Visibility Evacuation in person, Senator Jim Barcia said,
“The Unthinkable’s highly professional and realistic simulation of a Zero Visibility Evacuation scenario should have a positive impact on the safety of our school age children. I would encourage ALL school districts to seriously consider obtaining The Unthinkable’s services in this regard.”
Let the professionals from The Unthinkable, Inc. increase the safety of students in your district by providing bus safety instruction to your bus drivers, aides, any school employees that travel on school buses with students, and applicable emergency personnel. Remember, the time to plan for an emergency is not when it is happening; it is now. The safety and emergency training that we provide could be lifesaving if The Unthinkable were to ever happen in your district. Please contact us by e-mail at contactus@theunthinkable.org or by phone at (989) 671-0623 or cell (989)280-5079 for more information about our training programs and services.
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