46 votes
I disagreeDevelop a business CERT curriculum. Most people spend the better part of their waking hours at work. Beyond the nearly non-existant "fire brigades" or "floor monitors" and empty first aid kits little is being done to prepare people in the business environment for disaster. Just as Teen CERT and Campus CERT have their own curriculum I believe that a new curriculum for the business environment is needed.
30 votes
I disagreeThe CERT curriculum is an excellent start for developing community response; there needs to be a nationally-recognized, modular set of curricula for ongoing education and skill development of CERT members.
22 votes
I disagreeCERT teams should conduct SEVERAL family preparedness meetings in the community at schools, churches (maybe link with ministerial alliance folks) and fire houses. These meetings would present family and individual preparedness topics to include fire safety and having a fire plan for the family, but also being prepared for disasters, communication plans, etc. Partner with local hardware stores to publish lists of materials ...more »
CERT teams should conduct SEVERAL family preparedness meetings in the community at schools, churches (maybe link with ministerial alliance folks) and fire houses. These meetings would present family and individual preparedness topics to include fire safety and having a fire plan for the family, but also being prepared for disasters, communication plans, etc. Partner with local hardware stores to publish lists of materials they can purchase and perhaps give them a 5 gal bucket in which to put all of there emergency supplies. CERT is a great program, but isn't well known yet. By having CERT conduct these programs they can both reinforce their training as well as help families identify what they need to do to be safe and to be a part of a resilient community. Not everyone wants to be a part of CERT, probably because of the time commitment. These meetings are a way for families to get the information without having to join CERT and to realize their responsibility to become part of a resilient community. On the other hand, CERT teams can certainly pick the low hanging fruit and recruit interested parties.
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16 votes
I disagreeEncourage CERT members to become Amateur Radio ("Ham") Operators. This will enable CERT teams in neighborhoods to communicate with the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and provide local status updates regarding damage assessments, casualties, triage locations, etc. This would also allow CERT Incident Commanders to request assistance from other CERT teams in non-affected areas. This is occurring naturally in ...more »
Encourage CERT members to become Amateur Radio ("Ham") Operators.
This will enable CERT teams in neighborhoods to communicate with the local Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and provide local status updates regarding damage assessments, casualties, triage locations, etc.
This would also allow CERT Incident Commanders to request assistance from other CERT teams in non-affected areas.
This is occurring naturally in some locations, but ideally would be promoted and encouraged from both the CERT and Amateur Radio communities.
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9 votes
I disagreePeople take action to prepare for disasters when they are convinced that the danger is real and that their friends, relatives, and neighbors believe the same thing. Native Americans and other aboriginal groups achieve this through oral traditions. For example, no lives were lost to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in native groups with strong oral traditions that taught instinctive evacuation after an earthquake. This "culture ...more »
People take action to prepare for disasters when they are convinced that the danger is real and that their friends, relatives, and neighbors believe the same thing. Native Americans and other aboriginal groups achieve this through oral traditions. For example, no lives were lost to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in native groups with strong oral traditions that taught instinctive evacuation after an earthquake. This "culture of preparedness" is best achieved by social networking, neighbor-to-neighbor outreach utilizing volunteers. When such networking occurs in a neighborhood, it can cause permanent change as neighbors get to know one another and feel a sense of community, leading to communal preparedness and response. This general approach is supported by research should be the centerpiece of the nation's outreach efforts. CERT is an excellent vehicle for this type of person-to-person outreach.
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7 votes
I disagreeId suggest that we work to integrate the various volunteer disciplines and organizations. The fine material and programing of the CERT program is applicable to Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and other organizations. American Red Cross has offerings that are the world standard and should be available to other volunteer groups. Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary are the gold standard in various emergency disciplines. ...more »
Id suggest that we work to integrate the various volunteer disciplines and organizations. The fine material and programing of the CERT program is applicable to Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and other organizations. American Red Cross has offerings that are the world standard and should be available to other volunteer groups. Civil Air Patrol and Coast Guard Auxiliary are the gold standard in various emergency disciplines.
I'd like to see some coordination of programing efforts, perhaps at the Citizen Corps level. This could allow the subject matter expertise of of the individual groups to share their unique best practices to better prepare individuals. Each type of program has its strengths but cross training could benefit all volunteers. .
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7 votes
I disagreeSponsor the advertising and across the board promotion of the citizen-corp programs (CERT). Once citizens attend their level 2 CERT they get a better understanding of how ICS works, they become a better line of defense in their community and can - at the very basic level - train others on site to get things done right. The problem is that most members of the community still rely 100% on government response and have no ...more »
Sponsor the advertising and across the board promotion of the citizen-corp programs (CERT).
Once citizens attend their level 2 CERT they get a better understanding of how ICS works, they become a better line of defense in their community and can - at the very basic level - train others on site to get things done right. The problem is that most members of the community still rely 100% on government response and have no idea that they can make a difference before the government comes in. The delay causes most of the unrest so lets get more people trained and knowledgeable.
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7 votes
I disagreeSchool CERT
I am a trained CERT instructor and the manager of emergency preparedness for school district of 24,000 students in the earthquake prone desert of Southern California. I tweeked the CERT course to make a course for school personnel which I entitled SERT (school emergency response teams) - We have a trained team on each elementary and secondary campus
5 votes
I disagreeFire Inspector and former Crash Fire Rescueman, I would like to have training on aircraft emergencies and disasters for the major cities and communities . Train veterans for this duties to inculde medics and ambulances persons. This would be injuction with civil defence and CERT. I would like to do this. I would like to organize this, pay a show up milage and monthly stipen.
0 votes
I disagreeTake a serious look at what The Ojai Valley is doing with our grass-roots, bottom-up, annual Emergency Preparedness & Communications Exercise -- Ojai OK! Drill. Our main web-site is http://okdrill.org. The next Annual drill is Wednesday, Sept 15th at 7PM PT and this year we're working on simultaneous exercises throughout Ventura County that have aggregate counts communicated via Ham Radio back to Ojai EOC. This dynamic ...more »
Take a serious look at what The Ojai Valley is doing with our grass-roots, bottom-up, annual Emergency Preparedness & Communications Exercise -- Ojai OK! Drill. Our main web-site is http://okdrill.org. The next Annual drill is Wednesday, Sept 15th at 7PM PT and this year we're working on simultaneous exercises throughout Ventura County that have aggregate counts communicated via Ham Radio back to Ojai EOC.
This dynamic communications exercise involves the entire community, promotes a dialog of Emergency Preparedness, gets CERT out into the neighborhoods, and enables Amateur Radio Operators to work on their ICS skills as they relay aggregated information to a central EOC.
This year we're including other groups from outside Ojai Valley and using our CountyWide Ham Radio Repeater to tie remote groups together. This drill has been one major reason why our CERT group has increased strength, viability and visibility. Ojai Valley has added nearly 100 new Ham Operators in last 2 years. CERT Classes are always full.
To answer the three questions:
1. Get the local NGO communities involved and support them in providing key information up to the Professional First Responders. It took a couple years, but the Ojai Valley Volunteer groups (CERT, Ham Radio, Red Cross) have earned the respect of our various Professional First Responder groups because we effectively integrate with them and behave professionally. The Triad of CERT, Ham Radio and Red Cross always work together, cross-pollinate training programs, and have a lot of fun working on projects (July 4th Parade, Ojai Day, etc).
2. I haven't experienced any policies and guidance yet, so I don't have a point of reference. I think the more the community truly understands the purpose and the response plan for Government, then they will go back to practicing self-empowerment and tend to not rely on Government response. We've been coached that "the calvary is not coming" - we're not expecting Craig to show up on a white horse... In Ojai, we're working towards a model of FEMA and the Government eventually showing up to be a bonus, not a guarantee. This takes time and commitment, though to be truly effective. Of course, when you do show up we'll be glad for the help and provide all the information we've collected from the ground.
3. The CERT program, typically 21 hours long, begins the Emergency Preparedness conversation. Finding ways to support ongoing preparedness/refresher programs that are initiated by the communities is worth a look. In other words, support those communities that are showing a grass-roots eagerness to be actually doing something to fend for themselves -- the other communities will eventually catch on.
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