WICHITA, Kansas, October 16, 2007 - Rescue Training Associates Instructors from all over the country are in Wichita this week. They're teaching officers, firefighters, medical workers, and even elected officials how to respond to major emergencies.

"They range from 10 to 25 years of experience, so do the math," Joe Sorrentino, Rescue Training Associates Instructor, said. "There's a lot of years of experience out there."
   
Over the years R.T.A. instructors have experienced the most extreme conditions including responding to the World Trade Center during the September 11th attacks.

"It was overwhelming for most responders, actually for all responders," Sorrentino said. "That's why we're doing this training, trying to bring all the stuff we've learned at different events and share it with everyone who is here."

They're also sharing skills they learned after working major hurricanes like Katrina among others.

"In south Florida I worked lot of natural disasters from Hurricane Andrew to Wilma,"  John McNamara, Rescue Training Associates Instructor, said.

Instructors also understand the dangers of responding to disasters without enough training.

"Some of the things we did could have made matters worse," Mike Walker, Rescue Training Associates Instructor, said. "We were fortunate that didn't happen."

Walker is a firefighter who worked the Oklahoma City bombing before he became an instructor.

"It was obviously a very overwhelming situation," Walker said. "Not having a previous background in structural collapse, you didn't really know where to start. It was so chaotic, it was difficult."

Now Walker can show you safe ways to cut through concrete or through a vehicle. They are skills that firefighters can take from this training and use on the job. It will especially be important Friday when firefighters take this training and put it to the test during the disaster drill.