Helping the Tokyo Fire Department Prepare for the 2020 Olympics

An article about me assisting the Tokyo Fire Department in
their English training drills in the Mainichi Newspapers.

So a few days ago, I had a chance to continue my efforts at helping the Tokyo Fire Department prepare it's staff for the incoming flux of foreigners that will be arriving for the 2020 Olympics.

The program was held at the Rinkou Fire Station (where all of the City's Fire Boats are held and which services the whole of Tokyo Bay), and spent the day acting as an English-only patient for the Paramedics and firefighters. Basically, the idea was that instead of just having to continually practice on dummies or Japanese patients, this way, they could have a live English speaker that they have to actually interact with during their exercises. I started off "calling" 119, and from there, they questioned me on my medical history, country of origin, current condition, etc. Then they rushed to the scene and start their actual treatment on me. 

A small thank you gift the Rinkou Fire Station
gave me showing it's flagship vessel. 

All of the drills were taking place on an actual fireboat, and while I was there, while we were on lunch break, I got to drill them with questions on how they do their jobs and how everything in the station works. It was really interesting. I think this is especially good for Rinkou, as it is located square where Tokyo's Olympic village will be. After that there were TV and newspaper interviews (some I gave in English and others in Japanese) about their progress and efforts to set up bi-lingual paramedics teams before the Olmypics. 


The program ended with me giving an hour-long class to 40 Firefighters, Paramedics, and Rescue Technicians and then a speech about how best to progress their English skill on their own.

All in all, I was pretty impressed with how seriously they are taking this training (although I think the gov needs to put way more funding into it than they currently are), and happy to see that many of them are managing to retain what they learned from the previous classes I had with them. I hope the program continues on with the energy that it has had thus far and also that Tokyo generally continues it's efforts to make life more foreigner friendly here. A lot more escalators are being installed all over the city to give better handicap access, and from what I have heard, all of the subway/JR maps that are exclusively in Japanese will be replaced. (This is bad for me though, as that has always been good reading practice! ;) Anyway, if Tokyo keeps going like this, then I think all we need now is actual free WIFI around and things will be all around grand!

View from the top of the ship. It has a total of 6 water cannons like these that all together  can fire over 60,000 liters
of water per minute. The InfraRed Camera in the top right corner also costs about $300,000. This is also the first ship in the fleet that has the technology to automatically hold it's exact position regardless of what the rest of the ocean is doing around it.