Two months ago I wrote an article entitled "Hold on to Toto
Dorothy, Spring Time is Here". Shortly thereafter we saw
the horrendous devastation a tornado can produce as illustrated
in Greensburg, Kansas. Fortunately we don't see this type of 'total'
devastation by tornados very often. As I looked at the aerial
photos my heart went out to those who lost so much. I also viewed
the scene through the eyes of an emergency responder and played
the "what would I do" game. Some of the greatest concerns
that came to mind were finding survivors and victims, utility
cutoffs, the absence of landmarks, food and shelter for survivors,
etc. How about the fact that emergency responders in this situation
themselves may now be victims? Emergency resources and mutual
aid can be maximized in very short order, at least in the initial
stages of the incident. No matter where you are in this country,
metropolitan or suburban America, due to the complexity of a disaster
situation, it could take hours for help and resources you need
to arrive.
This type of widespread disaster is most often created by Mother
Nature through tornados, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Hopefully
our future will not witness this kind of destructive carnage by
terrorism, but don't count it out. When disaster strikes with
such a massive impact, have we maximized our preparation and resources
to help our communities and those around us? Who loves the emergency
responder and would love to help us? Yes, the very public we serve.
I think that we sometimes overlook those who have a burning passion
(no pun intended) to help us when, in situations like this, we
really could use another hand.
In our department, it all starts with our Citizens Fire Academy,
but that's a future article, and the implementation of a CERT
program. That is an acrostic for Community Emergency Response
Team. Now I know this is not something new under the sun, but
I think that sometimes as we truck along in our emergency response
preparedness that we may overlook a great asset in the event of
catastrophic disaster.
The Community Emergency Response Team concept was developed
and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department
(LAFD) in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987
underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in
California. Further, it confirmed the need for training
civilians to meet their immediate needs. As a result, the
LAFD created the Disaster Preparedness Division with the
purpose of training citizens and private and government
employees. (https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/about.shtm)
This training program also increases the ability for volunteers
to safely help themselves, their family, and their neighbors.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Emergency Management
Institute (EMI), and the National Fire Academy adopted and expanded
the CERT materials believing them applicable to all hazards. CERTs
have existed for at least a couple of decades formally, and informally
they have been around forever.
A Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is basically a group
of trained citizen volunteers that provide a surge capacity of
emergency responders during a disaster. CERT members have training
in search-and-rescue, disaster medicine and triage, scene management,
and hazard recognition. It is important to realize that a disaster
is a far different environment from a day-to-day emergency. A
structure fire (even a big one) is not considered a disaster in
the emergency response arena. They can be tragic and feel like
a disaster to those directly effected, but their regional significance
is usually pretty small. A disaster, on the other hand, is an
event that has regional, state-wide, and sometimes national significance.
The impact from a disaster can last weeks, months, or even years.
THINK KATRINA. Katrina was and is a disaster in every way. The
aforementioned recent Kansas tornados are a disaster as well.
They don't have the national significance of Katrina, but they
definitely have made a state-wide and regional impact.
Who can be on a CERT team? Just about anyone! Following a disaster,
there are jobs for everyone who is a willing volunteer. Most disaster
work is not the glamorous life-saving, firefighting, search-and-rescue
stuff that grabs the headlines. The reality is that most disaster
work is centered on meeting people's basic needs. Providing food,
shelter, and water to other people, generalized search, USAR paint
markings on streets, which in instances like Kansas would really
be helpful since all the landmarks were destroyed. There are many
useful opportunities that can utilize these volunteers. This type
of assistance can free emergency responders for the more serious
and dangerous assignments.
Some of the supplies we included in our CERT members response
cache are a helmet, vest, gloves, flashlight, EMS supplies, spray
paint, duct tape (you can fix anything with duct tape), curb keys
for utilities, and other various items. The training lasts about
a month and a half or as long as it takes to complete the eight
units of the course. We average two classes a year with about
25 volunteers per class. So far we have never had a shortage in
filling the classes. If you can sit and write, CERT has a place
for a volunteer. If you can pass out information or talk to a
crowd, CERT has a job for volunteers. If you can walk around and
determine what building and neighborhoods are impacted, CERT needs
volunteers. Oh, and did I mention that this is also great PR for
your department! There are CERT teams all over the USA. I hope
you are prepared for disaster and hopefully have utilized this
valuable asset in your emergency preparation.
