Fort Myers firefighters learning sign language

FORT MYERS, Fla. —

The Fort Myers Fire Department participated in a program to learn sign language, aiming to improve communication with deaf people during emergencies.

Audrey Rodriguez, a mentor at the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center, grew up hard of hearing and eventually lost all her hearing. She highlighted the importance of clear communication, noting, "Not many deaf people read lips. It doesn't matter how old they are; people can become deaf at different age."

Amy Turner, executive director of the Sally J. Pimentel Deaf & Hard of Hearing Center, shared the center's experiences, saying, "We have had every situation that you can possibly imagine, and each one is more heartbreaking than the next."

The center's lunch and learn program teaches first responders how to communicate with the deaf community, providing sign language instruction and materials tailored to their needs.

"We bring a sign language instructor, an interpreter, and all the materials that the staff or that agency would need. And we teach basic sign language that pertain to that business," Turner said.

Michael Deke, a captain at Fort Myers Fire, expressed the personal significance of the program, sharing, "My sister was born deaf. She is two years older than I am. I actually learned sign language prior to speaking, because my mother and her would sign back and forth, and I picked it up as a young child."

Deke emphasized the importance of his coworkers learning to sign, saying, "Calms down the stress level 100%. And now you're able to speak and understand what's going on, and you can help that person, and then also they can understand, you know, where they're going or what you're doing to help that person out."

The program taught crucial communication skills.

"The first thing we've taught is you need help. So, 'Do you need help?' That's something that's really, really important, is knowing how to say, 'Do you need help?' Knowing how to say, 'Calm down, calm down,' or 'I understand,' those are some big things," Turner said.

In addition to firefighters learning sign language, every fire truck now carries communication cards.

Turner explained, "If they don't know the sign for fire, you know, this is something that they can work on. And this also will show what the best way is to communicate with that individual. It also has a little sign language alphabet."

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