CERT Overview Article: "We Ain't Coming."

In September 2005 the nation watched TV and saw the Gulf Coast get hit with a massive hurricane (Katrina) and all levels of government respond inadequately if not incompetently to it. People died who could have been saved! There is an untold story about this disaster which was not covered since the media overemphasized the suffering in New Orleans while almost ignoring the rest of the gulf coast states. Then we watched while Houston, Texas was evacuated incompetently. Here in LA the power for 2 million Angelenos went out; (reportedly) due to a LA City Department of Water and Power employees cutting the wrong wire.

California First Lady Maria Schriever told us the old disaster preparedness goal of being self-sufficient for 3 days without government help is outdated. Interestingly, she did not say how many days or even weeks we should be prepared for. In the New Orleans case help did not come for at least a week. Many areas which received no media coverage got no help at all. Keep in mind if help comes to a city - it will be slow to filter down to particular neighborhoods and individuals. Being prepared for more days or even week than you think are necessary can not hurt.

In Southern California we have grown up with warnings of "the big one," a killer earthquake. The recent killer quake in Pakistan killed over 30,000 people. Since the 9/11 attacks we have been told it is not a matter if LA will be attacked by terrorists, but when. Almost all disaster preparations for earthquake are appropriate during the aftermath of a terrorist attack and other kinds of disasters.

A few years ago I invited the LA Fire Department (LAFD) to my home owner's association to give an evening's disaster preparation training. There is a more in-depth 7 session course called the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT). Most people who take CERT do not volunteer for a CERT team to be a volunteer first responder in a disaster. They take CERT to be personally prepared. Some also take it to manage their anxiety about terrorism and other dangerous world events.

The goals of CERT are:

1. Manage utilities and put out small fires.
2. Treat the three medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock.
3. Provide basic medical aid.
4. Search for and rescue victims safely.
5. Organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective.
6. Collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.

CERT graduates are capable, if they follow-up and actually prepare, of being personally prepared to successfully survive most likely-to-happen disasters. There is no substitute for personal preparedness! A housewife said to me – “my husband will take-care-of-me if there is an earthquake. I don’t need to take the (CERT) class.” I pointed out - what if you two are not together when the disaster strikes? In a major earthquake or other disaster people may not be able to travel far from where they are at the time of the disaster. What if the husband was injured or worse in the disaster or its aftermath?

The emphasis on personal preparedness can not be understated. In the words of Los Angeles City Firefighter who is a CERT instructor – “We ain’t comin’.” In a major disaster LA Fire Department will be overwhelmed. In the Northridge earthquake, the crews at five firehouses were trapped inside their own stations. They had to first dig themselves out. The entire LAFD was overwhelmed within five minutes of the quake.

In a really major earthquake, such as "The Big One," the roads will likely be buckled and impassible. The gas, sewer and water lines will be exposed and protruding. The gas lines may be on fire. Live electrical lines, trees, street lamp posts and debris will make the roads impassible for fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, National Guard trucks, utility crews, as well as for those of us wanting to evacuate. We must be personally prepared to take care of ourselves! Counting on someone else, even the fire or police departments is a big mistake

Beyond personal preparedness is community service. After the Northridge earthquake CERT trained people performed 158 utility managements. They suppressed 5 fires. They performed 203 searches and did 17 rescues. CERTs medically treated 57 people and transported 4 patients.

CLASS 1 - INTRODUCTION, EARTHQUAKE AWARENESS
Registration
Introduction
Earthquake Threat in Southern California
Personal & Family Preparation
Nonstructural Hazard Mitigation

CLASS 2 - DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION TECHNIQUES
Fire Chemistry
Fire Extinguisher Use
Utility Control
Creative Firefighting Techniques
Hazardous Materials / Placarding
In this class you will actually put out a fire. Bring leather or suede palmed gloves and eye protection.

CLASS 3 - DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS
(SESSION 1)
Recognizing Life-Threatening Emergencies
Treating Life-Threatening Emergencies
Triage
Bring a blanket.

CLASS 4 - DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS
(SESSION 2) AND MULTI-CASUALTY INCIDENT
Head-to-Toe Evaluation
Treating Non-Life-Threatening Emergencies
Treatment Area Management
Bring a blanket.

CLASS 5 - LIGHT SEARCH & RESCUE OPERATIONS
Evacuation
(Damage Assessment).
Search Techniques
Rescue Methods / Cribbing

CLASS 6 –TEAM ORGANIZATION & DISASTER
PSYCHOLOGY
Developing a Response Team
Incident Command System “ICS”
Psychological “Size-Up”

CLASS 7 – TERRORISM & HOMELAND DEFENSE
History of Terrorism
Do’s and Don’ts During a Terrorist Act
Homeland Defense Tips

CERT is offered locally by several fire departments. It is better to take CERT in your neighborhood if possible. Then you will meet people who you may have to work with in a disaster.

At the completion of the course, one will get a basic CERT certificate, safety helmet and vest.

While pre-registration is not required keep in mind if you just show up you will cause problems from the sponsor and instructor. There may not be enough seats or materials. Or on the other hand, if not enough people sign up and SHOW-UP the class will be cancelled. It is especially unfair to cause problems for the sponsor for they are volunteers trying to help their neighbors. Creating trouble for someone not being paid is simply irresponsible.

CERT can fit most peoples' schedules. In fact you can take CERT sessions out of sequence; that is start a class, and then wait until another cycle to finish it. There is no time limit to completion. You need to take 7 classes, no matter in what order. You can even take the classes over a few years. You can take one class in our side of town and say the next week you have to be somewhere else in LA, you can take a class there. A plumber I know kept saying - "I never know where I will finish up work on a given night. I can't commit to taking a class." I suggested to him that when he finish-up work that he visit the www.cert-LA.com website and find the class nearest his last customer or on his way home and take that class. He did just this. He took the class in 7 different locations. I took the class in 4 locations. CERT’s computer system will keep track of what sessions you have taken and which you need to complete. Of course it would be better to take the class near where you live for you will network with people who may help you or need your help in a disaster.

Please visit www.CERTsponsor.s5.com to find links and information on CERT courses outside LA City and on-line.

Please visit www.CERTsponsor.s5.com to find links and information more CERT training beyond CERT 1..

Beyond CERT I

There is not enough time in the CERT course to teach “everything.” There are at least two major areas that are not covered CPR/1^st Aid, and emergency communications. Prior to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, CPR was taught during the CERT I class. It had to be dropped in order to make room for the class on terrorism preparedness. Also CERT is about helping the most number of people possible. Doing CPR in a mass casualty situation is often too time consuming. However, for your own family’s benefit, it is highly recommended that you take a CPR class. Please contact me if you are interested in CPR and 1^st Aid training. (Note – Spring 2006, both the American Heart Assn. and American Red Cross made major revisions to their CPR training. If you took CPR before the revision please take another class and learn the current procedure).

When the LA (City) Fire Department adopted CERT from the Japanese they changed it to suit Los Angeles. In Japan, CERT team members have specialities, i.e. damage assessors, first aiders, communicators….. LAFD reasoned specialization in LA would not work due to people in LA move their households more than people in Japan. If specialists moved out of the neighborhood, it would leave a gap in CERT teams. LAFD’s CERT does not deal with 2-way emergency communication. Whether you join a CERT team or not, in a major disaster the phones, cellphones and WiFi will not work. For advise on dealing with the breakdown in communications infrastructure after a disaster, please visit http://nerp.myeweb.net.

In closing to quote a Firefighter-CERT instructor who started class saying “We ain’t comin’….Do you get it? We ain’t comin.’ You’re on your own!” Please personally prepare yourself for disaster. You clearly can not count on governmental agencies. It is unlikely you will be one of the 6,000 to 20,000 people the Red Cross in LA says it can shelter after a disaster (Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2006:B11). There are 9M people living in LA County. A major earthquake could create 200,000 in need of shelter (Los Angeles Times, July 9, 2006:B11).

Please do some math. Find out how many people live in your neighborhood. Find out how many police and firefighter are on duty at any one time. There are only 300 volunteers in all of LA City; though 40,000 have been trained. Find out if your neighborhood has a CERT team? Are they active? Are the members physically able to help others?

Your family, friends and neighbors may be injured (or worse) and in need of your help, rather than be available to help you. The only one you can really count on is you. Please take CERT, CPR/first aid, get a FRS/GMRS walkie talkie or a ham radio license, and so on so you can feel confident about depending on yourself.

(Please visit: Neighborhood Emergency Radio Project http://nerp.myeweb.net/)

Cliff Cheng, Ph.D., KI6CM . (Ph.D., Policy and Organization, University of Southern California). As management professor, Dr. Cheng has taught at the University of California Irvine, University of Southern California, and University of California Los Angeles, teaching at every level from undergraduates, to MBAs, doctoral students, to executive programs. As scholar, Dr. Cheng has published and/or presented over 140 papers. His colleagues selected him as Ascendant Scholar, elected him to leadership posts in the Academy of Management, and appointed him to the editorial boards of five scholarly journals. As consultants he has served a wide range of organizations from the start-ups, government, non-profits, and Fortune 100 companies. He has served as advisor to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission. He served in a policy maker as Los Angeles City Human Relations Commissioner. He routinely applies his background to volunteer organizations and their problems with motivation, group dynamics, organizational culture, and leadership.

Disaster preparation was taught to Dr. Cheng at an early age. In elementary school he took part in the LA (City) Fire Department’s Junior Fire Department program and learned fire safety. Later he participated in the Auto Club’s School Safety Patrol program. He earned an amateur radio license in 1975 and has since done public service with the LA County Disaster Communications Service (DCS) and then Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) providing communications during emergencies. He holds the advanced class license KI6CM. He has served as President of five amateur radio clubs. He is a lifetime member of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and served as its Assistant Director in its Southwest Division. He also holds life membership in the Quarter Century Wireless Association (QCWA). He is also an accredited Volunteer Examiner (VE) who gives amateur radio licensing examinations. He is Chairman of the Neighborhood Emergency Radio Project, a nonprofit educational internet resource which teaches neighbors and neighborhood leaders how to prepare for the failure in communications infrastructure failure after a major disaster, http://NERP.myEweb.net/.

Dr. Cheng teaches disaster preparedness, CPR and 1^st aid on behalf of the American Red Cross. Dr. Cheng has also taken several emergency management courses through the Emergency Management Institute of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and disaster relief courses from the American Red Cross. Dr. Cheng graduated from the Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Ambassador program offered by the LA City Emergency Preparedness Department and the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, the Red Cross’ Community Disaster Education leaders’ program, LA (City) Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program, and the Community Police Academy offered by the Los Angeles Police Department. Dr. Cheng helped form the Palms Neighborhood Council, as well as the Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Congress (LANCC). He serves as President of the Palms-Westside Neighborhood Watch (14A27) which serves 40,000 people with public safety education, including disaster preparedness. commissionercheng@hotmail.com or ki6cm@arrl.net