Did you know National EMS Week is celebrated every year during the third week of May? Since that’s right around the corner, we wanted to take a moment on our blog and shine a spotlight on EMS practitioners and showcase why they are so crucial to the construction industry.
As you know from reading the news stories or following our blog and social media pages, there are many trench shoring incidents that happen all over the country on almost a weekly basis. Sadly, many of these collapses and other incidents could have been prevented with proper training and equipment. Nevertheless, when an accident occurs on the job site, the first people to the scene are the local EMS professionals.
This is such a prevalent part of their job that many cities conduct regular trench training exercises, like this one held in Adrian, Michigan a few weeks ago. According to Adrian Fire Capt. Nick Moorehead, the training is important because it “gives us the opportunity to learn every part of this type of rescue, so we can be better prepared.”
The brave men and women that choose to go into this often dangerous career truly deserve all the recognition we can give. They have a tough job which requires specific training in a multitude of areas. It is our job as contractors to ensure our crew makes safe decisions on the job site so we never have to ask EMS crews to risk their lives to save our own. By staying educated on relevant OSHA regulations, using proper equipment on every job, and making sure there’s a trained competent person on each job, we keep our local EMS professionals out of harm’s way.
If you’ve ever relied on your area EMS practitioners, this is the time to reach out and thank them again for their service. Let’s face it, not many of us could do the work they do every day, and they deserve our respect. Stay safe out there!
