Frequently Asked Questions

 

Is First Responder a role play sim?

No, it is a training sim much like those used by pilots with scenario capabilities and whose purpose is to educate and prepare people to deal with real life disasters.

What are the qualifications for participating in the training? Can anyone do it?

No, please refer to our policy guide for participants: FRPolicyProtocol This is for people who want to participate in Initial Immersive Training in Disaster Team Coordination and scenario specific events. You may register individually after review and approval of sponsor information and we will assign you to a team.

Can people from countries other than the US participate?

Yes, by all means, and we can use translators inherent to SL for this purpose.

How flexible is the class structure to accommodate people's real life schedules?

The 30 hours must be completed in a 6 month period. You are welcome to join any group as we can assign you, however there are only 7 people to a team and 21 to a full group on sim at any time.

How will my confidential application information stay secure and private?

We agree to be bound by the same privacy laws which govern USA medical HIPPA unless or until we find the information given to be untruthful or in the case of an abuse of training.

Who are the Trainers? What is their real life experience?

All trainers will have been trained by us and will have had real life experience in training for preparedness or response to disaster.

 

 

 

Does everyone have to use the Firestorm Viewer? And if so, why?

Yes.  For various reasons we have found it works best for our purposes and it is very important that everyone in the training is working with the same tools. it makes communication much easier.

What if I want to use a different avatar account than my regular avi?

That is fine as long as you are open and above board about it when you join. Also IF you want certification, we must have your real life name and information as this is a real life certification and you will be assigned a registered and numbered, watermarked real certificate through your sponsor.

There are some spectacularly odd avatars in SL, will I be able to participate as a dragon or an infant with wings?

No. We are asking people to participate as adult human avatars of either gender. If your normal avatar is other than this, we ask you to lay it aside for the few hours you will be participating in the training. To accommodate uniforms and the serious intent of the training we ask that you have a human avatar within normal proportions, modestly clothed. We are focused on teaching people how to save lives in the real world. Highly sexualized or bizarre avis would pull trainees out of the experience and child avatars would arouse the protective instincts of the other members of the team at a time when the team needs to be focused outward rather than inward, endangering the purpose of the training. Handicaps and disabilities will be accommodated if you have them in real life and we will make every effort to assist you or get you specialized training.

Do you need people in roles other than Trainers and Trainees?

Yes. We need people who will be willing to function as victims of a disaster. You will still need to go through a regular screening process and we would ask that it be a firm and regular commitment.