DATE: April 07, 2006 12:25:49 PST
Emergency response volunteers serve co-workers and community
| He is the neighbor who unexpectedly jumps into his car, leaving the lawnmower in the middle of the yard until some hours later. She is the co-worker who excuses herself quickly, vanishing at the sound of a beeper hanging from her waistband. They are “First Responders,” volunteers prepared to deliver life-saving services at the scene of a medical emergency. Mike Knott, Emergency Response Coordinator at Shell Puget Sound Refinery, notes that the plant “is totally covered, twenty-four-seven, 365 days a year” by a team of 24 employees who volunteer as First Responders. All responders, he notes, are state-certified and take part in regular instruction and training. On the day of interviews for this article, volunteers were involved in an eight-hour quarterly session that included both classroom and field training led by emergency response consultants. Many of the First Responders were attending on their day off. “It’s in your blood,” Knott said of the motivation behind volunteer emergency response work. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and I can tell you, it becomes a passion.” In addition to providing round-the-clock medical response coverage for their co-workers, several First Responders serve as volunteers on the Plant Fire Brigade, and in their communities with organizations such as volunteer fire departments. The life-saving skills they acquire as volunteers have a dramatic “ripple effect” on countless lives. Following are interviews that give a glimpse into the lives and motivation of First Responders: Lillian Haines, a Lab Technician at the refinery, volunteered as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)/firefighter at Whatcom County Fire District 8 five years ago. Shortly after that she started work at Shell Puget Sound Refinery, where she immediately volunteered as a First Responder. “I’ve always loved emergency medicine. I don’t work in an ER, so I volunteered for the Whatcom County Fire Department. When I started work at the refinery, volunteering as a First Responder seemed like a no-brainer.” “People who do this long-term really enjoy it. There’s a lot of stress, but it teaches you patience. As a fire department volunteer, you’re helping the community, and here at work we really care about each other. It’s pretty serious to us.” Haines, the only female First Responder at the refinery, acknowledged that the job poses challenges. “I have to stay in shape,” she said, with regular training that includes such things as high altitude rope rescue and confined space rescue. “The physical demands are big. I don’t think it’s something I’ll still be doing when I’m fifty.” In the meantime, she said camaraderie and the challenge of constant instruction and application of skills are among top incentives to continue as a volunteer. “We’re like family,” she said of her fire department and plant teammates. In fact, her husband is an EMT/firefighter with the Whatcom County Fire District as well. For Bob Wallin, Team Lead, volunteer work is a family tradition. Wallin’s father, the late Don Wallin, served as a volunteer firefighter in Oak Harbor, and one of his sons is EMT-certified as well. “I told myself I wasn’t going to do what Dad did, but it was always in the back of my head. I volunteered at the Oak Harbor Fire Department about 20 years ago, and I absolutely love it.” Today Wallin is a captain in his hometown fire department. He and fellow Shell First Responder Dave Hansen are the only veterans who have served in the volunteer medical emergency response group since its inception two decades ago. Like others on his team, Wallin notes personal challenges but speaks highly of the camaraderie among his peers. “There are so many positives,” he said of his years as a volunteer. “My family and I sat down and talked about the time commitment so everybody was on board with it before I got started. You have to find your own way to deal with the reality of being on call all the time, but I’ve had great support, good family communications.” Jason Smolsnik, Operations Coordinator at the refinery, fills dual roles with the First Responders organization, serving as a volunteer EMT and also as the only certified instructor for training such as rope techniques and defibbulator. Smolsknik, who has served as a First Responder for six years, is also a volunteer EMT/firefighter with the Anacortes Fire Department, and he works regularly as one of about 30 volunteer EMTs at Island Hospital. “I enjoy it a lot,” Smolsnik said of his emergency response work. “I joined the Anacortes Fire Department about seven years ago, completed an EMT course at Skagit Valley College and soon after came on here as a First Responder.” Smolsnik is proud of the fact that a number of Shell’s First Responders serve as volunteers in their communities as well. “We reap the benefits of their training, and they reap the benefits of ours,” he noted. “But patient care is the number one goal both inside and outside the plant, and the protocols and standards are the same.” He also appreciates the skills he brings into his private life as family man and neighbor. “I’ve used my skills to help family members, people out camping … it’s amazing how this training can be used to help other people.” Darrel Vaught, an operator in the refinery Poly Unit, came to Shell with two years of volunteer experience on the Mt. Baker Ski Patrol. After completing state certification exams he became a volunteer with the plant First Responders. The Whatcom County resident said he loves to volunteer on the ski slopes, where he serves every other weekend during the busy ski season. He also finds it gratifying to be part of a volunteer team that can come to the assistance of co-workers. On the ski slopes, his work ranges from preventive helping people out of “sticky situations” to responding to serious injuries. Incidents, which occur far away from “definitive” medical treatment, can easily number in the dozens on an active day. “The true motivation is to be able to help someone who is suffering or in peril,” he said. “Learning emergency response skills just seems like the right thing to do, and there’s a great deal of satisfaction when you see the face of someone you’ve been able to help.” As is the case with most volunteers, Vaught brings some unique skills to the team. As a Ski Patrol volunteer, for example, he has been certified to “clear” for spine traumas, making a determination that there has been no spine injury and clearing the way for treatment and transport options. Whether on mountain slopes or the confines of a refinery, Vaught emphasizes: “We follow strict guidelines and procedures. It’s safety first, with the proper equipment, the proper gear.”
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Among Shell employees who volunteer as emergency medical “First Responders” are (kneeling) Carlos Alonzo, (center, l. to r.) Steve Helms, Darrel Vaught, Lillian Haines, Jason Smolsnik, Dave Hanson and Pat Mullen; (back) Denis Caron, Brian Park, Marv Mehlum, Dave Akland and Bob Wallin.
Shell First Responder Lillian Haines (circled) practices rope rescue techniques in a training exercise at a waterfall. Specialized training for First Responders at the refinery includes confined space and high altitude rescue. 
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