An exciting new sim has opened and I was given a sneak peek tour a few months ago when it was still in the making. This is an amazing opportunity for SL to help RL disaster victims through virtual simulated situational training for first responders. I was so impressed I have been keeping tabs waiting for a general opening. The First Responder Sim is a training area for emergency preparedness and actual training participants will receive certification at the end. The sim is provided by LL for public educational and training purposes in the hope that it will enable more lives to be saved in disasters. They are also looking for volunteers to be victims, evacuees, etc. To volunteer contact Treacle Darlandes.
All first responders are welcome and anyone can register to train. It's a 5 day program in groups of 7. The sim will be closed to the general public when responders are in training, but there will be ample time each day when the sim is open and the community is very welcome. Check it out here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/First%20Responder/127/129/21 or direct link here: FirstResponderSimHere.
My good buddy Patrick Thorkveld has a large role in establishing this sim and program in SL and his information reads:
"Confederated Response Force and First Responder
CRF is a group which stands as a communication vehicle for development and
implementation of disaster preparedness projects exploiting the capabilities in
Second Life for first responders and communities to learn and to train, ultimately to save more lives.
Rockcliffe University and Joint Forces Comman Training together will be offering courses through CRF and DisasterZone for credit and/or certification: Catastrophic Planning and Management Institue (CPMI) RL"
The sim and training is an immersive learning experience.
... "Each segment provides a sequential sample of how the instance of disaster may be addressed and resolved. For each, a strategic plan and operational tactic should be developed, skills of each participant defined with the goal of interacting and immersing as a group, a team. ..... Certification is provided from CPMI at the end of this training and will be recognized by all institutions as we have a collaborative agreement with both Rockcliffe University and Joint Force Command Training.
Respectfully,
Pat Thorkveld
Cat Plaid"
Some of the areas in the sim include the Central Plaza, Command Center, FR Trainee Registration, Morgue Trucks, Medical Tent, FR Intake and Supply, Dormitory Tent, Parade Ground, National Guard, Oil Refinery, The Evil Eye, Fire, Harbor, Hurricane, Tsunami, Earthquake, Helo Control Tower, FEMA and Red Cross, FR Office Tower, and Amphitheatre. Some of the staff include Treacle Darlander, JamesHenry Plane, Iso Huet, Imperatrix DeCuir, Dragonheart SpiritWeaver and Emeli Ling.
Some good additional information about virtual platforms use for community disaster preparedness can be found here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Virtual-Platforms-Use-for-Community-Disaster-Preparedness/138884826136156 or direct link here: VirtualPlatformUseHere.
Not only is this a fun sim where you can literally "ride" the storm by using pose balls to enter a storm and get tossed around but this is important sim for RL too.
As Patrick said, "Truly we hope to enable people to save more lives, that's what is important"
