DHS high school students tackle emergency preparedness with simulation

A group of Desert Hot Springs High School students found themselves responding to a major disaster Tuesday morning on campus. Luckily for them, it was only a simulation of the aftermath of a major earthquake. It was all part of becoming certified as a member of the Community Emergency Response Team. According to the school, 44 students were certified to become first responders.

During the simulation, students applied skills they had learned in the classroom such as basic first aid and light search and rescue to navigate a room that contained rubble and injured victims. They had to contend with the distress and emotions of the injured victims. One student, Karla Perez, a junior and incident commander of the team, she said it was a tough job in that situation.

“Being the incident commander, it’s really hard because you have to make sure you’re up with every single station to make sure everyone is okay,” she said.

Perez said she felt prepared after going through the realistic simulation.

“We could use this type of training in our community and stuff, so if there is an actual scenario or incident that happens, I’m prepared and I can go help out neighbors and everything like that,” she said.

Ralph Mesa, emergency services coordinator for the County of Riverside Emergency Management Division was the instructor for the students. He felt the students did good work and will be ready to go if a disaster strikes with the basics.

“They did extremely well with everything that I taught them,” he said. “I definitely would be proud to work side-by-side with him in an emergency.”