Posted on 05/02/2015 12:26:02 PM PDT by flamberge
A posting on another blog suggested that “preppers” should learn about the Incident Command System used by FEMA and that this might best be done by taking some of the courses offered by that agency. See your tax dollars at work, so to speak.
A CERT course was available and scheduled nearby. I decided to attend.
“CERT” stands for “Community Emergency Response Teams”. This program is sponsored on a national level by FEMA and is based on volunteer organizations first created about thirty years ago by the Los Angles Fire Department. CERT makes explicit use of the Incident Command System.
The introductory training session for this locale was held on a Saturday in one of the city recreational facilities and lasted for most of the day. The course was free and open to the public. Almost thirty people registered for the course; there was a waitlist which did not clear.
The students were mostly volunteers and professional counselors associated with the area police departments. Course completion was a job requirement for them. There were also a few police interns, staff from the Public Health Service, and several other citizens without any government affiliation.
The instructors had very solid experience in fire and rescue operations and large-scale disaster relief activities. The training materials were direct and to-the-point, remarkably free from bureaucratic jargon.
I found the general messages from both the instructors and the materials to be quite unexpected. The surprising part was hearing local Government officials speaking in plain language and promoting independent and self-sufficient capabilities in the general population.
My takeaways from what they said and what was written in the materials:
1)“There are not enough government employees to respond to a large-scale disaster”.
The instructors repeatedly made the point that the people at the site of an incident are the ones who must first respond as best they can, then call for help. Any large-scale disaster will quickly overwhelm Government agencies. This prospect isn’t going to change.
You are likely to be on your own for quite a long time. The Government relief workers may not be able to come to your location when you call for them.
People should be prepared to save themselves, their families, and their neighbors – in that order of precedence. People should be prepared for 1-2 weeks of self-sufficiency if they “shelter-in-place”.
A minimal preparation is 3 days of supplies, such that you do not need to leave your home during an emergency.
Emergency supplies should be accumulated slowly, a few extra items at each trip to the stores. Be sure to rotate stocks of perishables. No special foods (MREs’, Freeze-dried kits) are necessary.
2) The plans for disaster response cannot address every possibility.
The most likely events assessed for this area were:
Other areas may have plans to address different hazards.
Terrorist activities are apparently outside the scope of hazards that CERT volunteers can be expected to deal with effectively. The training materials indicate that the most severe terrorist actions could be chemical, biological, or radioactive contaminations of public spaces.
Unit 8 states: “Although it is not the mission of CERT members to keep constant watch for these eight signs [of terrorist activity], everyone should be alert to changes in their environment as a clue to a possible terrorist attack and report suspicious activities to appropriate authorities”.
The local instructors explained that Incident Commanders will not send CERT volunteers into dangerous situations.
3)You should have a “Go” bag ready for immediate use if you need to leave your location in a crisis.
There may be a “Go” bag in your home, your office, and your car.
There were a number of suggested items which should be in each type of “Go” bag. This included written lists of phone numbers and names of prescription medicines. Cash is important too.
In a crisis, the most important action is to get out of immediate danger. Do not stay in dangerous areas or enter them.
4)Recovery time after a serious disaster is said to be 4-6 months – but after-effects are often visible for up to 20 years after a major incident.
Things do not go back to the way they were before.
5)Emergency notification systems can automatically deliver targeted messages to land lines and cell phones within a specified geographic area.
In most areas, phones can be traced to their exact physical location in real-time. 911 calls can be traced even after hang-up.
Many cell phones can be tracked even when they are “turned off”.
Do not call 911 except for a life-threatening crisis. Even then, do not expect a rapid response.
In a disaster, it may take hours for medical assistance to reach you. Use whatever first-aid skills you have to deal with the immediate problem.
ping!
BKMK
BFLR
What a bunch of optimists!
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