Scouts struck by lightning in NH

[King Ding Dong]

Thanks for worrying about me, but no I have left the teen years (sounds like even the counselors were youth which is natural for an NYLT, very few adults...

 

BLW2 - " the scouts were taking shelter underneath a canopy when lightening either hit the canopy".. 8:30 might have been a little early for bed.. But 23 boys sounds too large for a patrol grouping.. Still, this course takes in way more boys then they should, like they run the course for 100 boys.. They really should break it into 2 or 3 groups but I don't think the camp can give them 2 or 3 weeks out of the summer... I don't know if they run lots & lots of patrols.. or do big big patrols.. So it could have be a patrol group doing something.

 

There are two camps on the property, one is large and lots of buildings, but Bell is the small one, with I think only 3 buildings the administration building, a boat house and strangely a indoor rock wall.. Why the largest building is an indoor rock wall when everything else is outdoors I don't know.. (Oh yeah and about 6 small staff cabins.)

SR what council are you in? Mid America Council only focused on LSSR to the best of my knowledge. I didn't see any new buildings at Cedars, Eagle or Wa-Kon-Da last summer.

 

Seems odd to me they would be mess hall cooking at NYLT, seems like patrol cooking would allow them to utilize some skills. But then again most on this board feel it is cubicle skills for teens.

[RememberSchiff]

Turns out this is National Lightning Safety Week June 23-29 http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/

 

When Thunder Roars, Go Indoors!

 

Didn't know that "more than 80% of lightning fatalities are men who did not seek shelter from an approaching storm, but instead kept on fishing, boating, golfing, biking, or working outdoors."

Short video

http://www2.iii.org/video/beyond-thunder-dumb-when-lightning-strikes.html

[moosetracker]

Really.. I haven't been there for about 2 years, when we held a training there.. Only went to it maybe 3 times for training courses, my son went to camp there only once about 12 years back and didn't care for it, so stayed with the valley or other scout camps out of district.

[SR540Beaver]

Thanks for worrying about me, but no I have left the teen years (sounds like even the counselors were youth which is natural for an NYLT, very few adults...

 

BLW2 - " the scouts were taking shelter underneath a canopy when lightening either hit the canopy".. 8:30 might have been a little early for bed.. But 23 boys sounds too large for a patrol grouping.. Still, this course takes in way more boys then they should, like they run the course for 100 boys.. They really should break it into 2 or 3 groups but I don't think the camp can give them 2 or 3 weeks out of the summer... I don't know if they run lots & lots of patrols.. or do big big patrols.. So it could have be a patrol group doing something.

 

There are two camps on the property, one is large and lots of buildings, but Bell is the small one, with I think only 3 buildings the administration building, a boat house and strangely a indoor rock wall.. Why the largest building is an indoor rock wall when everything else is outdoors I don't know.. (Oh yeah and about 6 small staff cabins.)

KDD, NYLT isn't exclusively dining hall cooking. The patrols do cook in addition to some meals being cooked for them. It depends on how each course director chooses to run their course. There is a lot of training material to cover on a tight schedule and most courses cost at least $200. Do you want to send your leadership to the course to spend their time cooking or being trained in leadership skills? Depending on the day and the schedule, we would provide particular meals. The rest of the time they cooked some pretty easy menu meals. They do the majority of the cooking, but not all. Any kid coming to NYLT will most likely have been a scout for a few years and already skilled at cooking and KP. It simply isn't the focus of the course. As far as what most of the board feels, they have never participated in the course.

[moosetracker]

Thanks for worrying about me, but no I have left the teen years (sounds like even the counselors were youth which is natural for an NYLT, very few adults...

 

BLW2 - " the scouts were taking shelter underneath a canopy when lightening either hit the canopy".. 8:30 might have been a little early for bed.. But 23 boys sounds too large for a patrol grouping.. Still, this course takes in way more boys then they should, like they run the course for 100 boys.. They really should break it into 2 or 3 groups but I don't think the camp can give them 2 or 3 weeks out of the summer... I don't know if they run lots & lots of patrols.. or do big big patrols.. So it could have be a patrol group doing something.

 

There are two camps on the property, one is large and lots of buildings, but Bell is the small one, with I think only 3 buildings the administration building, a boat house and strangely a indoor rock wall.. Why the largest building is an indoor rock wall when everything else is outdoors I don't know.. (Oh yeah and about 6 small staff cabins.)

Well then it is multiple courses with only one course director each year.. Soon there may be two courses, and I was pleased that they are now telling the current course which refuses to go to the new syllabus it won't be recognized as an official NYLT.. The second one coming on will be the new syllabus, in fact I would guess those changes would have been this year, seeing I haven't been to the Council training meetings in about a year since I handed the reigns of Distrinct Training Chair over to my son. That was what was discussed at the last meeting I went to.. So hopefully this year it was a smaller course, and unsure if it was the official or unofficial NYLT course..

[RememberSchiff]

"Firefighters from several area communities, representatives from four of the five participating hospitals, Lakes Region Mutual Aid dispatchers and a representative from the state participated yesterday in an assessment and review of the actions taken after the lightning strike Monday night that sent 23 Boy Scouts by ambulance to emergency rooms."

 

http://www.laconiadailysun.com/index.php/newsx/local-news/69574-evalutation-of-lightening-strike-yesterday-at-belmont-fire-station

 

A good, honest debrief therein as to how firefighters/EMTs/ER personnel can do better the next time. Camp Bell and Council needs to do the same.

 

The above report needs to be attached to a public BSA incident report along with some more information

1. why scouts were under a tarp among tall trees on a hill and not evacuated down to lodge in the valley below as per camp extreme weather protocol. Who took charge at the scene (campsite) before firefighters/emts arrived?

2. were scout med forms given to triage/medical personnel

3. when did adult leaders notify parents

4. training resume of adult leaders, was that training effective

 

Much to learn from this incident.