One Day Disaster Management Workshop conducted by NDRF for Cadets of 2 KAR Battalion, Bangalore 'A' Group, NCC - India NCC

One Day Disaster Management Workshop conducted by NDRF for
      Cadets of 2 KAR Battalion, Bangalore ‘A’ Group, NCC.
Date: 23/10/2020                  Place: Govt. Arts College, Ambedkar Veedhi, Bengaluru

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for
the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the
Disaster Management Act, 2005. The NDRF consists of 12 Battalions all over the country,
further classified into Regional Response Commands (RRC’s), which also assist the State
Disaster Response Force (SDRF).

Today, we Cadets of the 2 KAR BN, NCC were privileged to have the members Bengaluru
RRC, 10th Battalion NDRF, conduct a One Day Disaster Management Workshop at Govt.
Arts College, Ambedkar Veedhi. The programme was conducted keeping in mind all the
protective measures against Covid-19.

Soon after introducing themselves, the NDRF personnel emphasised that they are going to
train us to be ‘Medical First Responders’ (MFR’s) in case of any accident. We as NCC
Cadets, have the responsibility to act first to help the people of the society in case of
emergencies, while also keeping in mind our own safety. As Mfr’s our only duty is to provide
first aid and support the victim until professional medical help arrives.

The first advice we received, in case of an accident was to check the status of the victim and
immediately inform an ‘Emergency Medical Service’. This we can do by calling the
emergency numbers such as 108 (Ambulance), 100 (Police), etc. While informing the
services on call, we are supposed to be extremely clear about the status of the victim,
location on the accident and the situation at hand, so that the service that will arrive there is
prepared in advance.

Steps to treat bleeds.

During an accident, there is probability of the victim to bleed due to certain cuts and bruises.
The NDRF personnel explained to the various ways the bleeding can be stopped. Once the
wound is cleaned with water and a clean cloth, the different ways a bleed can be stopped
are:-

   1) Apply slight pressure on the wound.
   2) If the bleeding still doesn’t stop, apply pressure on the vein that leads towards the
      wound.
   3) Elevating the wound would reduce the bleeding as it would be a little higher that the
      level of the heart.
   4) Tourniquet: It is an improvisation of method 2. Here we use a cloth to apply pressure
      by wrapping the cloth around the arm and twisting it tight and again loosening it after
      a while. This method is used as a last resort in very challenging situation of extreme
      bleeding.

Steps to treat a wound to an eye.

Further the NDRF personnel demonstrated what has to be done it the eye is affected in an
accident. In an accident that has affected one of the eyes; the priority is to protect the other
eye from further damage. The first step is to take a clean cloth, moisten it and place it in a
clean cup (maybe plastic, paper or even steel cup). Place the cup over the undamaged eye
and wrap using available cloth pieces. The extent of damage to the other eye will indicate
the steps require to be taken to provide first aid to it.

Shown below is a picture depicting how the above explained procedure will result.

Steps to treat a broken bone.

In case a person has succumbed to broken bones, the NDRF personnel made us familiar
with a method of diagnosing whether the victim has had a broken bone or not. The method is
called D.O.T.S, which is short for Deformity, Open injury, Tenderness (of skin around wound
area), Swelling (around wound area). After diagnosing the kind of wound, the basic
treatment that can be given is taking 2 rigid pieces (maybe wood, cardboard, etc) or hard
bind books and provide support to the broken bone and tie it. Be sure provide enough
support so that the wounded portion doesn’t move as it may cause more damage and pain
to the victim.

In case the victim is unconscious after the accident or Cardiac arrest.

In such a case after the preliminary procedure of informing the respective services about the
accident, we have to try to get the victim conscious back again. The NDRF personnel again
taught us a method of diagnosis, LLF (Look, Listen, and Feel). In this method the MFRs’
have to lean in near the victim face and first look if there is inhaling and exhaling action,
listen if the victim is breathing in proper rhythm and feel his breath on out cheeks.

After this the next diagnosis is check CAB, short for Circulation, Airway, and Breathing. Here
we have to check whether the victim has proper blood circulation, if the person’s airway is
free and if the breathing is normal. The next step in trying to wake to person up, is trying to
make him respond to us. If he doesn’t respond we have to perform CPR.

CPR

     CPR or Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation is an emergency procedure that combines chest
     compressions often with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain
     function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and
     breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.

     The basic CPR steps include:

1.   Recognize the emergency (tap and shout)
2.   Activate EMS (call 1-0-8)
3.   Check for breathing.
4.   Compressions: Provide 30 compressions.
5.   Airway: Open the victim's airway.
6.   Breathing: Give 2 breaths.
7.   Continue till help arrives.

     C,B,R,N Emergencies (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear Emergencies)

     In such cases as Medical First Responders, we don’t have enough training to handle such
     extreme situations, the only thing we can do is notify respective authorities and agencies to
     assist in the situation.

     The NDRF personnel sowed us the suits they use in these situations, the pictures of which
     are below.

                                               L/CPL Yuga Chandrashekar (KA19SAD116456)

                                               BNMIT Company, 2 KAR BN,

                                               Bangalore ‘A’ Group, KAR & GOA DTE