What certification standard must I follow?

There are two major standards for First Aid and CPR certification: the American Heart Association (AHA) and the American Red Cross (ARC). The ARC uses the AHA guidelines to develop its training but presents the material a bit differently, including information on initial response to an emergency and good samaritan laws which is sometimes not offered by AHA instructors. One of the big differences is that AHA instructors offer CPR certification for two years while ARC instructors only certify for one year. The American Red Cross believes that people who do not use CPR on a regular basis (the case with most employees and lay volunteers) do not retain the knowledge adequately without one-year recertification. This author initially certified with the American Red Cross and has valued that training.

The LCS Auxiliary currently allows certification to either standard. Our volunteers are also required to receive CERT training which covers initial incident response, as does the First Responder training volunteers can take as an elective. Having the material covered again in an ARC class is not a bad thing and reviewing CPR information and techniques more frequently than every two years is also good (you should be voluntarily reviewing your course materials more often than once a year) , but our volunteers are required and encouraged to train in many skills, and requiring frequent recertification in one skill may come at the cost of less attention paid to another important skill. ARC classes are excellent but often harder to schedule. Make your own choice and constantly seek opportunities to keep your skills sharp.

How long is certification good for?

First Aid training certificates are good for three years. AHA CPR certificates are good for two years and ARC certificates for one year. You may take recertification or requalifying courses before your certificate expires; these courses are usually shorter, faster paced, and less expensive than the initial CPR course.

Where can I get classes?

This is an incomplete list of training in the area we know about. We will try to keep volunteers informed about upcoming classes, adding them to the site calendar. We can also schedule group training when there are enough people who need it. The Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross will do local group courses for 15-20 people at a time.

• The Greater Ozarks Chapter of the American Red Cross does regular Adult First Aid/CPR and recert classes in Springfield. The GO-ARC also offers a Wilderness First Aid (Adult First Aid prerequisite) once or more a year, often in the fall (but see this discussion from the Wilderness Medicine Training Center).
• The Barry/Lawrence Ambulance District offers area classes in First Aid, CPR, and First Responder.
• There are a growing number of services offering online certification. The pros and cons of this are discussed separately. You will typically be able to print a wallet card immediately and will be mailed a signed certificate.
• International CPR Institute
• American CPR Care Association
• American Health Care Academy NOTE: In their demo course, the instructor in the Adult CPR video is not performing rescue breaths correctly (she is not pinching the nose) and they only show what is going on from one angle, so it may not be easy to see correct hand-placement, arm position for chest compressions. In the AED video, the AED is set up where the victim's legs would be. If this is in their demo, it reflects poorly on the quality of their courses: let the buyer beware.

Are online First Aid/CPR courses any good?

That's a good question (also discussed at cprfirstaidclasses.info). For many people, especially those who are good at self-study, online courses can be as good or better than class room training. In the case of First Aid, clearly an online course cannot have a practical component and cannot have an instructor watching to ensure that you perform the skills correctly (they instead center on videos). The three online vendors I have found currently offer AHA-compliant First Aid or CPR courses for approx $20 and combined courses for approx $36, which is less expensive than typical classroom training, easier to schedule (you can take it at 3 am if you like and can do it all it once or break it up), and you can work at your own pace, retaking the test for free if you do not pass the first time.

• Pros:
• Less expensive
• Schedule/work at your own pace
• Focus is on video demonstration; can pause or rewatch videos as needed
• Can access course materials during your certification to review
• Seem to be generally accepted by employers/organizations
• Can take and certify very quickly
• Cons:
• No practical demonstration/No practical test
• No hardcopy course materials
• May be seen as less legitimate; may not be accepted by an employer or other organization; may not be accepted as a prerequisite for other training (e.g. First Responder)
• You cannot ask questions or get things explained in a different way (although some of the online training appears to have on call instructors you can chat with)
• You cannot interact with other students and benefit from their questions/approaches
• Interesting:
• Many 'in-person' First Aid/CPR courses now use videos for much of the instruction anyway
• 'Practical demonstrations' are often not very practical: CPR dummies often don't have legs and almost certainly don't scream, suddenly vomit while performing rescue breaths, bleed, or have panicking, shrieking spouses. Classrooms don't really get across the experience of performing the skills in an emergency either

Consistent self-review of materials and real life experience can be of more use than 'practical' classroom skills and a good online course might be a good option for recertifying. Online course are useful if: you have already had hands-on training, you learn well that way and are good at self-study, know how to look up additional information or find a professional to talk to, are proactive about practice and review, and are self-motivated to understand the material (rather than just memorize answers for a quiz), and especially if I you are easily bored by a class which is not fast-paced enough or taught by an interesting and engaging instructor. If these things are not true for you do not take an online course or, if you are in a hurry with a busy schedule, take the online course and follow it up with a 'real' course when you can schedule it. Your life or someone else's life may depend on your skill: do not skimp.
If you do take an online course, you should probably purchase hard copy materials you can review offline. A First Aid manual is not something you consult in an emergency but need to look at frequently between emergencies. MobilReference has an excellent guide for the Nook, "First Aid and Home Doctor," which can be carried anywhere for frequent review and can be used to supplement First Aid instruction.

Volunteers in the Auxiliary are required to have a 1-day in-house course in communications and 2-way radio use. This course has the following goals:

• Teaching radio and communications fundamentals
• how radio works, frequency, wavelength, bands, antennas, propogation, modulation, and interference
• FCC part 97 rules and the various radio services available (CB, GMRS, MURS, Amateur Radio) to citizens
• The rules governing radio use in an emergency
• There will be considerable overlap between this part and the introductory information in the HAM Technician test. Experienced radio operators will be allowed to test out of this section of the course.
• How to communicate with citizens and neighborhood watches, including fundamentals of REACT
• How to communicate within the Auxiliary, including short-range 2-way radio use, phone trees, message passing, the use of texting in disasters, use of our own Amateur Radio personnel for call-up of the Auxiliary
• Working with 9-1-1 dispatch.
• How to use ARES/RACES to communicate with other emergency services, including the office of the Sheriff.

The CERT training for community groups is usually delivered in 2 1/2 hour sessions, one evening a week over a 7 week period. The training consists of the following:

• Session I, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Addresses hazards to which people are vulnerable in their community. Materials cover actions that participants and their families take before, during, and after a disaster. As the session progresses, the instructor begins to explore an expanded response role for civilians in that they should begin to consider themselves disaster workers. Since they will want to help their family members and neighbors, this training can help them operate in a safe and appropriate manner. The CERT concept and organization are discussed as well as applicable laws governing volunteers in that jurisdiction.
• Session II, DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION: Briefly covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards, and fire suppression strategies. However, the thrust of this session is the safe use of fire extinguishers, sizing up the situation, controlling utilities, and extinguishing a small fire.
• Session III, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS PART I: Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding, and shock by using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques.
• Session IV, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS, PART II: Covers evaluating patients by doing a head to toe assessment, establishing a medical treatment area, performing basic first aid, and practicing in a safe and sanitary manner.
• Session V, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS: Participants learn about search and rescue planning, size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques, and most important, rescuer safety.
• Session VI, DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY AND TEAM ORGANIZATION: Covers signs and symptoms that might be experienced by the disaster victim and worker. It addresses CERT organization and management principles and the need for documentation.
• Session VII, COURSE REVIEW AND DISASTER SIMULATION: Participants review their answers from a take home examination. Finally, they practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six sessions in disaster activity.

During each session participants are required to bring safety equipment (gloves, goggles, mask) and disaster supplies (bandages, flashlight, dressings) which will be used during the session. By doing this for each session, participants are building a disaster response kit of items that they will need during a disaster.

The CERT program goes back to the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985 and the Whittier Narrows Earthquake in 1987. It is based on two realizations: 1) that emergency services, communications, and transportation will be overwhelmed by a major disaster, and 2) that local, probably untrained, citizens will attempt to respond and perform rescue operations. Unfortunately, untrained responders often endanger themselves and others. The need for community-wide emergency response training was recognized and formalized. Today, CERT is organized under Citizen Corps (along with VIPS, the Volunteers In Police Service Program, which we also participate in). CERT volunteers are trained to provide local emergency response within their community during a disaster and to organize other local, possibly untrained, volunteers to work effectively. As such, the mission of CERT is highly complementary to that of the LCSA.

LCSA volunteers who undergo the CERT training will retain the CERT equipment and training materials and will be full members of the Lawrence County CERT program. LCSA volunteers have as their first priority serving the needs of the Lawrence County Sheriff, however, CERT membership provides the option of responding to one organization if the other is not activated or the volunteer's services are not currently needed by the other. Sharing the same basic training also makes it easier for LCSA and CERT volunteers to work side-by-side in the field.

The CERT training materials are available online through the CERT Website. IS-317, an online introductory course, is also available. IS-317 is not required to take the hands-on CERT course but some people may find it useful as an introduction to what CERT does and how it works.

The Auxiliary requires an 8-hour course in "Constitution, law, the functioning of the Sheriff's Office, and the Auxiliary" for officer candidates, and a 3-hour course on the same subject for NCO candidates.
The intent of this course is to cover the basics of the history/purpose of the Sheriff's office, property rights under the Constitution, our role as an auxiliary, and the legal issues surrounding intervention in situations we may face (i.e.: consent to treatment for first aid situations, MO law on intervention to prevent a violent felony, fcc regulations governing radio use in an emergency). It shall also cover the differences inherenent in the roles we may play (deputized, acting as a volunteer, acting in personal capacity). We will look at some historical cases where things may have been done right and some where they were done wrong and discuss them.

The Auxiliary requires that our commissioned and non-commissioned officers (except potentially Warrant Officers) obtain a Missouri Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit and driver's license endorsement. This serves two purposes:

1. it ensures that each permit holder has gone through the background check at the Sheriff's Office
2. it ensures that each permit holder has a mimimum level of legal and practical firearms training (which will be built on at other levels of training)

Are volunteers required to carry or use firearms?

The Auxiliary is not a tactical unit and volunteers are not generally required to be armed, however, it is one of the Sheriff's requirements that we know how to bear and work safely around firearms when the circumstances require it. If the Sheriff must ever raise a citizen's posse (one of the authorities of a county sheriff) because... say... a prison transport bus overturns and lets a group of dangerous felons loose on the community, he (or she) needs to know there is a pool of pre-screened citizens who can bear arms, know how to work with the Sheriff, and can be expected to take a leadership role in the community response. This is not a likely scenario, but it is one of the responsibilities that the Sheriff and the Auxiliary has to keep in mind.

More probable scenarios involve bearing arms alongside our primary emergency response mission, such as guarding an emergency supply depot and ensuring that all equipment transfers are authorized, escorting search and rescue volunteers in a situation where a child is missing and may have been taken by force, helping patrol an area in a disaster zone where looting has occurred, etc. In these cases, we will be working with deputies to perform a primary emergency response mission which has self-defense aspects.

What if I am not comfortable bearing arms?

The Auxiliary will not require individual volunteers to bear arms or to perform any duty which the volunteer does not believe they may perform safely, or where there are strong objections of conscience. A communications or First Aid specialist, for instance, need not carry a gun if that is something they are not comfortable doing. However, all required volunteers must still obtain a CCW and participate in weapons-related training because the Auxiliary as a whole does deal with self-defense/civil-defense and firearms issues as does, obviously, the Office of the Sheriff. A volunteer must know how to work around weapons, handle them safely when required, and work alongside people who are armed. A volunteer must have some level of training in self-defense law and in how to deal with a potentially violent situation (crisis intervention). That part is not negotiable. Volunteers can still work with the Auxiliary through organizations such as CERT where weapons-training is not required and can still perform support roles without being an Officer or NCO.

If you do have strong objections to carrying/using a weapon, let your immediate superior know and make certain they understand. It will be noted in your record and we will work with you to direct your required training in appropriate ways. If you have problems related to PTSD or similar past experiences, also let us know and we may be able to refer you to people who can help. If, however, you do not feel you can function rationally in a situation where, for instance, we are providing rear-area support for the Sheriff's office in a stand-off or that you can effectively help victims of violence, then perhaps CERT, ARES, SKYWARN, the American Red Cross, Salvation Army or any of the other excellent local community service organizations will be a better fit.

If you want to carry a gun because you think it is cool or because you were not accepted at the Police Academy, please do not apply! The Auxiliary does not provide primary law enforcement or "law enforcement-lite". It is not a militia. We deal with stressful situations where a level-head must be maintained at all times. The respect and trust of the community is essential to our mission.

The CCW process in Missouri is relatively straight-forward. We have a shall-issue process here which means that a qualified applicant shall be issued a CCW within a set time period unless there is a specific reason not to (such as a prior felony conviction or a weapons-related offense within the defined time period).

1. Find a Missouri CCW-compliant firearms trainer. There are many of them in the local region, particularly in Springfield and surrounds. It is a one-day course with both a classroom and a practical firing range component. It is usually offered stand-alone for between $50 and $100 or along with a more advanced self-defense training seminar. You must pass a written test and a range test with both a semiautomatic handgun and a revolver. With most instructors, you may either bring both weapons (locked!) and ammunition or you may rent one or the other onsite for an additional fee. If you pass, you will be given a certificate as proof-of-training for the Sheriff.
2. You must take your training certificate to the Sheriff's office (basement of the new Lawrence County Courthouse) to fill out an application and pay a $100 nonrefundable fee. They will have you take a form to the Lawrence County Jail for your fingerprinting (this is now done electronically in Lawrence County--- no ink). After this is completed, the Sheriff will submit your background check paperwork.
3. When your check is completed, the Sheriff will issue a Certificate Of Qualification. It will take several days for the Certificate of Qualification to also be entered into the Missouri Uniform Law Enforcement System (MULES).
4. Once your certificate is in the MULES system, you can take it to the DMV to get a CCW-endorsed license or non-driver ID.
5. Your CCW must be renewed every three years ($50).

The Auxiliary, as with other required training, will attempt to secure group classes and discounts when in order to make it as easy as possible for volunteers to obtain training and certification they need or which will make them more valuable volunteers.

Because Auxiliary volunteers may be armed, the Sheriff's Office requires a minimum level of tactical training. The Missouri CCW process builds the foundation by covering Missouri self-defense law, basic firearm safety, and a range practical, but is not by-itself sufficient. Additional training in law, the authority of the Sheriff, and our role within that structure is provided in the Constitution, Law, and the Auxiliary courses and the First Aid requirement sets a minimum level for dealing with injuries (First Responder training is highly encouraged).
As discussed under the CCW process, all volunteers, even those whose role does not include use of firearms (i.e. staff and medical officers) must have a minimum level of firearm and weapons training to ensure that they can safely handle and secure weapons encountered in the course of their duties and safely work around other personnel with firearms. The Auxiliary therefore has three levels of tactical training: a minimum core requirement, a Basic Tactical level, and an Advanced Tactical level.
Operationally, the intent is that volunteers with higher levels of tactical training (presumably NCOs) would be paired with volunteers with a lower-level of training. Therefore, the instruction at the lower level concentrates on technique and the higher level on tactics and planning.
[These requirements are still being drafted and are subject to change.]
 
Core Tactical Requirements:

• The Sheriff Auxiliary's  3-hour Securing and Disabling Weapons practical or approved equivalent.
• A 4-hour course in Weapon Retention and Empty Hand Techniques or approved equivalent.
• Satisfactory participation in observed unit range-training and tactical exercise.
• NOTE: For carrying at large events, we are transitioning to also requiring (at least) a 1 day defensive handgun class with an approved instructor which includes specific training on muzzle discipline and avoiding (receiving or giving) friendly fire. Although we do not require training with a specific instructor, our key requirements is that we know specific elements are offered, we are able to communicate with the instructor to understand the student's strengths and flaws for future training, and preferably have an arrangement to have one of our officers observe the student's performance. We will accept recent certificates from well-known academies with a published curriculum on arrangement. Current volunteers who have been observed at tactical exercise and who we know have demonstrated an understanding of muzzle discipline and friendly-fire will be grandfathered in for the time-being but are encouraged to obtain more standardized instruction in a timely manner. In any case, volunteers must remain active in periodic range training and tactical exercise in order to retain their carry privilege at events.

Including the CCW, First Aid, and a portion of the Constitution, Law and the Auxiliary course, the core requirement represents about 20 hours of training. A pistol-I class brings it up to 28 contact hours.

Basic Tactical Requirements:
A volunteer meeting the Basic Tactical requirements will earn a Basic Tactical uniform qualification pin.

• Approved tactical handgun/shotgun/rifle instruction (e.g. FrontSight 2-day Defensive Handgun; 4-day Defensive Handgun (covers some shotgun/rifle topics), 2-day Practical Rifle and 2-day Tactical Shotgun recommended) (16-64 hours)
  • Priority is close-in self-defense (<=21’) with friendlies
  • Must cover flashlight/radio use
  • One weapon required, 3 recommended
• ​Qualifying instruction in one non-firearm martial art
• Techniques for partners; force protection lecture and role-play (4-6 hours)
• Pre-incident Indicators (must be tailored for SA), Use of Force, Combat Mindset (color code) (3 hours)
• ALICE Active Shooter class (1 hour)
• Recommended: Canine or dangerous animal instruction and practical

Advanced Tactical Requirements:
A volunteer meeting the Advanced Tactical requirements will earn an Advanced Tactical uniform qualification pin.

• Approved tactical handgun/shotgun/rifle instruction (3 weapons)
• Patrol and Perimiter techniques (custom curriculum, 4 hours)
• Lecture: Response to contraband, bomb threat, suspicious package, crime scene (2 hours)

• Lecture and Role Play: interacting with law enforcement; when to call for help, what to do in the meantime (custom curriculum) (2 hours)
• Security for MARC, Family Assistance Center, Shelter (requires Red Cross Shelter Operations course, Red Cross Multi-Agency Resource Center course, Mass Casualty Response course)
• Active Shooter for Law Enforcement
• Small-unit tactics

   

 
Descriptions:
Securing and Disabling Weapons Practical
A 2-3 hour hands-on course covering safe-handling, securing, disabling, or destroying a variety of firearms. Course covers the basic working mechanisms of different classes of firearms, how to safety-check and disassemble common types, how to safely secure (e.g. using bolt locks correctly), how to remove critical working parts to disable (e.g. remove bolt and lock up separately), and if necessary, how to quickly and permanently destroy firearms which must be left unsecured. Hands-on component gives students practice in securing and disassembling firearms.
Weapon Retention and Empty Hand Techniques
This course will be supported, if possible, through standard, commercially available training. Course shall cover basics of weapon retention: safe handling of a sidearm on and off-duty; deny malefactors access to your firearm; empty hand techniques to protect yourself when you cannot get to your firearm or to prevent an opponent’s firearm from being brought into play. Shall cover standard disarming techniques.

Equivalencies: If you have equivalent training, you may receive a waiver fro the LCSA required version.
You must submit a certificate of a satisfactory completion from the previous 4+ hours training  (e.g. a POST certificate for prior law enforcement training, from military training as MP, SO, MOA, etc, which would cover equivalent or higher skills. An outside class from a certified firearm instructor with class description. A mixed-method martial arts training on equivalent subjects might also work as would private courses through a private security firm. If we cannot give you a credit for the previous class, we can still put the information in the instructor's corse folder so that he knows what students have already had for training. When in doubt, take the class and then there will be no potential issue.

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