At the Red Cross in Lustenau, young people are already learning how to help people in need.
Lustenau It’s Tuesday evening, 7 p.m. Eight young people from the Red Cross youth group meet at the headquarters in Schützengarten. Wearing a white shirt and red paramedic’s jacket, they enter the training room, beaming with joy, where they are welcomed by trainer and department youth officer Daniel Fitz (39). “Whenever I see an ambulance on the street with blue lights flashing, I feel like I belong. I’m incredibly proud to be a member of the Red Cross,” reveals Laura Holzer (13) from the youth group in Lustenau. She and her seven colleagues are learning again this week what is important in rescue and first aid.
Early practice who wants to be a savior
At the Red Cross you don’t have to be an adult to be able to help: every 14 days, the young people between the ages of twelve and 17 practice emergency life-saving measures for one hour and acquire their first theoretical knowledge. “I was in the youth group myself and now I teach my protégés everything. I want them to learn something useful and know how to help people in need,” says Paramedic Daniel Fitz.
The young people see what a paramedic can do. But anyone who thinks that this is just learning theoretical content is far from it. “We always practice what we have learned using practical examples. Because that’s the only way you can remember it permanently,” says Fitz. How, for example, is a motorcycle helmet removed in the event of an accident? What to do if someone complains of stitches in the chest area? And what information does the RFL (rescue and fire brigade control center) need when an emergency call is made? The accident scenarios are varied and the young people receive comprehensive training. “We even practiced resuscitation with the defibrillator,” says Annalena Salzmann (11) proudly.
“Since I’ve been in the youth group at the Red Cross, I’ve felt safer. Because I know how I can help in an emergency and what to do,” says the young rescuer Christoph Feichtl (12). In a week’s time they will show their skills in realistically simulated accident scenarios at the Action Day with the fire brigade youth. Interesting excursions await the young people in the weeks that follow. “We will visit the Christopherus 8 rescue helicopter, visit the blood bank and the RFL headquarters. And at our headquarters, I show you how to apply make-up to injured people for exercises in a very realistic way,” Fitz says promisingly. The young rescuers Seher Öztürk (17), Annalena Salzmann (11), Christoph Feichtl (12), Laura Holzer (13), Bahar Öztürk (13), Sara Aberer (13), Leonie Terkl (12) and Alina Heisig (14) agree that knowing how to help is a good feeling. Anyone who would like to join the youth group is welcome to contact the Red Cross in Lustenau. vs
