Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical
services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors such
as the number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will
prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at
a moment's notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help
in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people
about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and
trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light
search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT
members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an
event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.
CERT training is free and offered several times per year either at your
local Fire Department or EMA (Emergency Management Agency). Go to the
link below and type in your zip code to find the nearest CERT program
and call them to enroll in their next available training course all for
FREE.
https://www.citizencorps.gov/cc/searchCert.do?submitByZip
One also expects that under these kinds of conditions, family members, fellow employees, and neighbors will spontaneously try to help each other. This was
the case following the Mexico City earthquake where untrained, spontaneous volunteers saved 800 people.
First, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) presents citizens the
facts about what to expect following a major disaster in terms of immediate
services.
Second, give the message about their responsibility for mitigation and
preparedness.
Third, train them in needed life saving skills with emphasis on decision
making skills, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest
number.
Fourth, organize teams so that they are an extension of first responder
services offering immediate help to victims until professional services
arrive.
The CERT course will benefit any citizen who takes it. This individual will
be better prepared to respond to and cope with the aftermath of a disaster. Additionally, if a community wants to supplement its response capability
after a disaster, civilians can be recruited and trained as neighborhood,
business, and government teams that, in essence, will be auxiliary responders.
These groups can provide immediate assistance to victims in their area,
organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect
disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with
prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster.
The CERT training for community groups is usually delivered in 2 and a half
hour sessions one evening a week over a 7 week period. The training consists
of the following:
•Session I, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS:
Addresses hazards to which people are vulnerable in their community.
Materials cover actions that participants and their families take before,
during, and after a disaster. As the session progresses, the instructor
begins to explore an expanded response role for civilians in that they
should begin to consider themselves disaster workers. Since they will
want to help their family members and neighbors, this training can help
them operate in a safe and appropriate manner.
•Session II, DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION:
Briefly covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards, and fire suppression strategies. However, the thrust of this session is the safe use
of fire extinguishers, sizing up the situation, controlling utilities, and extinguishing a small fire.
•Session III, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS PART I:
Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding,
and shock by using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques.
•Session IV, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS, PART II:
Covers evaluating patients by doing a head to toe assessment, establishing
a medical treatment area for mass casualties, performing basic first aid,
and practicing in a safe and sanitary manner.
•Session V, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS:
Participants learn about search and rescue planning, size-up, search
techniques, rescue techniques, and most important, rescuer safety.
•Session VI, DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY AND TEAM ORGANIZATION:
Covers signs and symptoms that might be experienced by the disaster
victim and worker and disaster team management and organization.
•Session VII, COURSE REVIEW AND DISASTER SIMULATION:
Participants review their answers from a take home examination. Finally,
they practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six
sessions in a simulated disaster activity.
During each session participants are required to bring safety equipment
(gloves, goggles, mask) and disaster supplies (bandages, flashlight,
dressings) which will be used during the session. By doing this for each
session, participants are building a disaster response kit of items that
they will need during a disaster.
