The Worry Is Over

Each year, every flight attendant that works for a US carrier is required to go to emergency training. This is around 14 hours of computer, book work and hands on activity, in addition to testing our knowledge and proficiency in MANY areas. And I bet you though we just served coffee and tea and read magazines.....

Various facts are read and memorized, to be pulled out when you confront medical emergencies, fire on the aircraft, a decompression, a drunken passenger, etc. An INSANE amount of information is crammed into our heads , swimming around and hopefully accessed when the need arises.

Current facts running through my head are:

-the difference between moderate turbulence and moderate chop (chop is less than turbulence, but both will have rapid bumps or jolts).

-Fireworks are unacceptable as carry-on baggage. This would seem common sense but there is always one.....

-In an explosive decompression there will be dense fog in the cabin and your bodily gas will expand....

-There are 3 types of fire, flammable solid material, flammable liquid and electrical.

-If you are not breathing I will give you 2 rescue breaths followed by 30 chest compressions.

The test day itself is quite stressful, evacuating mock aircraft while shouting at top volume for passengers to release their seat belts and get out while inflating a life vest and checking if there is fire outside my exit door. We also have to perform CPR on a dummy and administer AED.But I did pass, so the worry is over until next April. Yay for me.