Quote:
Originally Posted by whswhs
On the other hand, in a community of 50,000 people, or even a neighborhood of 8000, I don't quite see 1500-2000 adult males all having the skill package you describe.
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The relevant question is, what are the chances of being the only competent person (adult male, if that's how your setting defines things) in an airtight compartment when an accident occurs?
If there are blocks (of housing, work, shopping, etc.) with airtight doors between them, there only need to be a few competent responders in each at any given time. If every family dwelling unit can be individually sealed, every competent person will necessarily be familiar with the procedures.
Space (including the surface of Mars) is an inherently lethal environment. Taking a 5-week orientation course (possibly spread over several years, say in secondary school) is a small price to pay for the added assurance that whoever is present at an event isn't going to make things worse for everyone else.
On the other hand, from a RAW standpoint you could say that all most people get is familiarization (~ 8 hours), and they are expected to react at a default (IQ-4). This is similar to the way that Driving is handled for ordinary civilians on Earth.