Emergency services - Emergency Response Training At Premium

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Emergency Response Training At Premium

fgoodwin

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

Emergency Response Training At Premium

http://www.gazettes.com/CERT09292005.html

By Steve Irsay, Staff Writer

A six-story building has been ravaged by fire and there are people
trapped inside. The concrete structure is stable, but it's pitch
black and full of soot. Firefighters, police and other professionals
are responding to other emergencies and may not arrive for hours, maybe
days. There is no choice: you have to go - and do it safely.

This very realistic exercise in search and rescue is a staple of the
training for the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, a free
six-week disaster preparedness program taught by the Long Beach Fire
Department.

Since it began in the early 1990s, the Long Beach branch of the
nationwide program has turned out more than 2,200 graduates. The
classes, taught one evening a week, cover everything from basic first
aid to fire suppression to spotting possible terrorist activity.

As it often does after national and international disasters, public
interest in CERT has spiked in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
according to Long Beach Police Capt. Jim Arvizu.

With many cities, including Long Beach, taking hard looks at disaster
preparedness, the CERT program may be more vital than ever, supporters
said. Yet, the supply may not meet the demand.

The next training, scheduled to begin Oct. 13, filled up weeks in
advance and the waiting list is growing. Funding, largely from U.S.
Department of Homeland Security grant money, may be drying up.

"The grant money that we have is not going to handle the amount of
interest in the program," said Arvizu, who declined to give the exact
cost of CERT. "We don't want to leave anybody without any type of
training."

The CERT training is typically conducted four times a year, with an
average class size of about 30. To meet increased demand, there has
been talk of running two class sessions concurrently. Also, some CERT
members have suggested conducting abbreviated two-hour disaster
preparedness seminars aimed at businesses and community groups.

"Our goal is to get as much information to the public as possible,
especially in the wake of what happened," Arvizu said, referring to
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. "Even FEMA (Federal Emergency
Management Agency) got caught off guard, it seems."

The CERT concept was born out of another tragedy: the September 1985
earthquake in Mexico City that killed more than 10,000 people and
injured some 30,000 others. Though there was no prior organized
training, volunteers were seen playing a key role in the 15-day rescue
operation following that 8.1 magnitude quake.

The following year, the Los Angeles City Fire Department instituted the
first CERT training program. Now more than 1,100 communities have CERT
programs based on that model, according to FEMA, which now oversees the
program.

The main goal of CERT training is to teach people to be self-sufficient
in the wake of a disaster that could delay professional response for
days.

People are taught how to assemble and maintain emergency kits of food,
water and supplies in their homes, cars and workplaces. Previously, the
advice was to pack enough for 72 hours. Based on the delayed response
to Hurricane Katrina, that has been upped to five to seven days.

"What we are doing is teaching people how to be self-sufficient and
take care of themselves in case something like that happens in their
neighborhood," said Guido Orio, president of Long Beach CERT.

Orio, a film and video producer and self-professed "safety geek,"
went through the CERT program two years ago. He said one of the most
valuable lessons was learning how to be organized in a crisis - a
vital part of professional emergency response, he added.

"We are always amazed at how firefighters and police go about doing
things," he said. "It is a mystery to a lot of us. But they are
doing things in a procedural way. With CERT, we do that as well. You
learn how to break things down."

As a result, CERT members are expected to be community organizers in a
time of crisis, Arvizu said. They are given green vests and white
helmets to identify them to first responders like firefighters and
police.

"They may not jump on a fire engine with us, but they can help us
organize neighborhoods," Arvizu added.

Vickie Elliott, who runs a daycare center in her El Dorado Park area
home, went through CERT training in the early 1990s and again two years
ago. She has emergency kits in her home, car and garage, and keeps
fresh food and water stowed both outside her home and in her garage.
She admitted that the planning may seem like a lot to some people.

"It's hard enough just planning meals for a family," she laughed.

But, she added, the little bit of forethought that it takes could buy
valuable time in the event of a disaster.

"Just think about what would happen if you were cut off from
everything," she said. "It really isn't too much work. It just
takes a bit of thought. It's just being aware and prepared."

For details on Long Beach CERT, including upcoming trainings, call
570-5233 or go to www.longbeachcert.org.

hot-ham-and-cheese@hotmail.com

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

fgoodwin wrote:
> Emergency Response Training At Premium
>
> http://www.gazettes.com/CERT09292005.html
>
> By Steve Irsay, Staff Writer
>
> A six-story building has been ravaged by fire and there are people
> trapped inside. The concrete structure is stable, but it's pitch
> black and full of soot. Firefighters, police and other professionals
> are responding to other emergencies and may not arrive for hours, maybe
> days. There is no choice: you have to go - and do it safely.
>
> This very realistic exercise in search and rescue is a staple of the
> training for the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, a free
> six-week disaster preparedness program taught by the Long Beach Fire
> Department.

If you don't live in Long Beach, consider:

www.fema.org has numerous on-line emergency response self-study courses
at NO COST.

www.redcross.org conducts numerous first aid and disaster management
classes, many require a fee.

www.arrl.org has several amateur radio emergency communications courses
on-line, but there is a fee.

best of luck

Too_Many_Tools

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

If this country was SERIOUS about emergency response training,

.....it would be required training in EVERY high school and a passing
grade would be required for graduation.

.....it would be required training in EVERY college and votech school and
a passing grade would be required for graduation.

.....it would be required training before a driver's license is issued.

.....it would be required training for every military personnel.

.....it would be required training for any job that you would apply for.

.....that is of course, if this country was SERIOUS about emergency
response training.

TMT

Mike Painter

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
> If this country was SERIOUS about emergency response training,
>
> ....it would be required training in EVERY high school and a passing
> grade would be required for graduation.
>
> ....it would be required training in EVERY college and votech school
> and a passing grade would be required for graduation.
>
> ....it would be required training before a driver's license is issued.
>
> ....it would be required training for every military personnel.
>
> ....it would be required training for any job that you would apply
> for.
>
> ....that is of course, if this country was SERIOUS about emergency
> response training.
>
At a conference early this year one of the docs went over emergency
response in Israel.
Since military training is mandatory almost all citizens have such training
and EMS can grab people off the streets and expect them to respond at at
least a First Responder level.

flobert

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:17:55 -0000, "Too_Many_Tools"
<too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:

>If this country was SERIOUS about emergency response training,
>
>....it would be required training in EVERY high school and a passing
>grade would be required for graduation.

not the best idea. American schools are FAR too busy with all the
social building stuff to even keep pace with the world in standard
academic subjects, to spend time on emergency training that could be
used for something IMPORTANT like, ooh, sorting some dance, or a
parade for baby rugby

>
>....it would be required training in EVERY college and votech school and
>a passing grade would be required for graduation.

As above, they're too busy with other stuff like the stuff they should
ahve been taught at high school, for this - I mean they already have
an extra year compared to Europe, and STILL get an inferior degree.
Adding Emergency training might push their schedual up to 25 hours a
week, and we all know how thats too much!

>
>....it would be required training before a driver's license is issued.

Since there's not much emphasis on actual driver training, and little
required before you get your license, that might be better, cut down
on accidents involvin vehicles 9prevention not cure)

>
>....it would be required training for every military personnel.
>
>....it would be required training for any job that you would apply for.
>
>....that is of course, if this country was SERIOUS about emergency
>response training.
>
>TMT
>
Sorry if I let my very british disgust of the US education system
shine through :-P
...

flobert

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 22:18:00 -0000, "Mike Painter"
<mddotpainter@sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>Too_Many_Tools wrote:
>At a conference early this year one of the docs went over emergency
>response in Israel.
>Since military training is mandatory almost all citizens have such training
>and EMS can grab people off the streets and expect them to respond at at
>least a First Responder level.

In theory, yes, course, time dulls perceptions, and training gets
forgotten. Its been a good 5 years since i last did any medical
training, and I *think* i can remember the recovery position, but
apart from that....

>

...

Carey Gregory

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

Just so the folks in alt.survival and misc.survivalism know....

This thread is being cross-posted to alt.emergency-services.moderated, which
(as you might have guessed) is a moderated group. AESM's charter prohibits
cross-posting to more than three groups and this thread is cross-posted to
four. However, I let it go since it's civil, interesting, and relevant.

Just be aware that since it's cross-posted to more than 3 groups, the
auto-moderation software holds every post for manual review, even if you're
on the whitelist. That means your post might not show up for 12 hours or so
if you happen to post when I'm not around (gawd forbid I might sleep or
something <g> ). So please do NOT send your post again if you don't see it
in 30 milliseconds, okay?

Anyway, sorry for the interruption. Carry on.

Mike Painter

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

flobert wrote:
> On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 22:18:00 -0000, "Mike Painter"
> <mddotpainter@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
>
> In theory, yes, course, time dulls perceptions, and training gets
> forgotten. Its been a good 5 years since i last did any medical
> training, and I *think* i can remember the recovery position, but
> apart from that....

Not in theory, in fact according to the report the doc gave.
When something goes boom EMS responds at once with no regard for scene
safety as we practice it. Apparently it's at least as safe to go in at once
as opposed to see if there are secondary events.
They pull people off the streets and put them to work.

Mike Painter

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

flobert wrote:
> On Wed, 05 Oct 2005 05:17:55 -0000, "Too_Many_Tools"
> <too_many_tools@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> not the best idea. American schools are FAR too busy with all the
> social building stuff to even keep pace with the world in standard
> academic subjects, to spend time on emergency training that could be
> used for something IMPORTANT like, ooh, sorting some dance, or a
> parade for baby rugby

>
> As above, they're too busy with other stuff like the stuff they should
> ahve been taught at high school, for this - I mean they already have
> an extra year compared to Europe, and STILL get an inferior degree.
> Adding Emergency training might push their schedual up to 25 hours a
> week, and we all know how thats too much!
>
>
> Since there's not much emphasis on actual driver training, and little
> required before you get your license, that might be better, cut down
> on accidents involvin vehicles 9prevention not cure)
>

> Sorry if I let my very british disgust of the US education system
> shine through :-P

I agree with you and love the baby rugby reference.

myal

2005-10-06, 10:46 pm

Carey Gregory wrote:
> Just so the folks in alt.survival and misc.survivalism know....
>
> This thread is being cross-posted to alt.emergency-services.moderated, which
> (as you might have guessed) is a moderated group. AESM's charter prohibits
> cross-posting to more than three groups and this thread is cross-posted to
> four. However, I let it go since it's civil, interesting, and relevant.
>
> Just be aware that since it's cross-posted to more than 3 groups, the
> auto-moderation software holds every post for manual review, even if you're
> on the whitelist. That means your post might not show up for 12 hours or so
> if you happen to post when I'm not around (gawd forbid I might sleep or
> something <g> ). So please do NOT send your post again if you don't see it
> in 30 milliseconds, okay?
>
> Anyway, sorry for the interruption. Carry on.
>

Good on ya .

fgoodwin

2005-10-10, 6:07 pm

Carey Gregory wrote:
>
> Just be aware that since it's cross-posted to more than 3 groups, the
> auto-moderation software holds every post for manual review, even if you're
> on the whitelist. That means your post might not show up for 12 hours or so
> if you happen to post when I'm not around (gawd forbid I might sleep or
> something <g> ). So please do NOT send your post again if you don't see it
> in 30 milliseconds, okay?

Sorry, I was not aware of that limitation -- I will honor it going
forward.

Carey Gregory

2005-10-11, 1:13 am

"fgoodwin" <fgoodwin@yahoo.com> wrote:

>Sorry, I was not aware of that limitation -- I will honor it going
>forward.

No big deal.

The purpose of the rule is just to limit mass cross-posting and flame wars.
Three groups is an old netiquette guideline on usenet, so that's why the
number three was chosen. But as long as the thread is on topic and limited
to a reasonable number of groups (which this one is), I don't enforce that
rule strictly. Three, four... no big difference, really.

--
Carey Gregory
Moderator - alt.emergency-services.moderated
Submission Address: moderator-aesm@gw-tech.com
Contact Address: contact-aesm@gw-tech.com