On Saturday, Oct. 18, Ross Valley Fire Station 21, located in Fairfax, hosted a Trail-Focused Emergency Aid Workshop Event for all ages. The Ross Valley Fire Department, in partnership with Archie Williams senior Riley Liebman, provided the training. Attendees learned critical emergency medicine and decision-making skills to help keep their community safe in the event of a crisis.
The event drew dozens of community members, including parents, children, and outdoor enthusiasts, all eager to grow their confidence in responding to emergencies. Each station provided hands-on practice with real-world scenarios, giving participants not only the knowledge but also the muscle memory to act fast in stressful situations.
Focused on trail safety, attendees were led through four stations: hands-only CPR; bleeding control, including tourniquetting; communications and decision-making skills; and shock management.
According to Fire Captain Benjamin Herbertson, Ross Valley Fire has three stations, one in Fairfax, Sleepy Hollow, and San Anselmo, but the Fairfax station responds to the most trail emergencies.
“The reason these four [event] stations are important is [that] when we are responding to incidents out in the watershed, it can take us 30 minutes to an hour sometimes to get to people. If community members have a better idea of how they can help us by helping others during an emergency while they’re waiting for us to get there, it increases the survivability of whoever we’re responding to,” Herbertson said.
This extended response time is what makes early intervention from bystanders so critical. In a medical emergency, even a few minutes can be crucial. By training locals who regularly use trails, first responders are effectively expanding their reach.
Properly educated community members can be extremely important in keeping communities safer, especially in outdoor environments like San Anselmo and Fairfax. Station 21 Engineer Sid Jamotte shared that emergencies are common everywhere, from a big city to a small town.
“These skills are useful in any jurisdiction, but especially out here, we get a ton of people who love to hike [and] mountain bike. They go very far away from help. If someone from the community who knows these skills comes across them, then they will just have a better chance of survival or getting help quicker,” Jamotte said.
Beyond promoting participation in the trainings, Jamotte emphasizes the importance of taking initiative in one’s community, as Riley did.
“This is a good lesson for people of my age, and people of [all] ages, that if you have an idea, you see something in your community that you want addressed or changed, it’s 100 percent possible. It just takes the work to do it, and Riley proved that really well in this event,” Jamotte said.
Melissa Wahlstrom, an event attendee and Archie Williams parent, encourages others to learn these potentially life-saving skills due to the frequency of emergencies on trails.
“Considering we’re such a big outdoors [community], I think everyone should know how to help people. We’ve all heard stories of people who have gotten in bad accidents and then are left on a trail, and I would want to know what to do,” Wahlstrom said.
The Trail-Focused Emergency Aid Workshop was more than just a day of training; it reminded the community that being proactive and informed can save lives. As outdoor recreation continues to thrive in nearby areas, events like these are educational and essential. For people wanting to learn more about emergency aid, the Marin Sheriff’s Office website or social media is available for future training opportunities and safety resources for all.
