Tag: emergency preparedness

CERT Day 3 – Disaster Medical – Who Lives and Dies

Day 3 – Disaster Medical

Things are picking up! We covered the first half of our Disaster Medical material. All told, we covered triaging in a disaster scenario as well as some basic first aid.

Triage is interesting. What happens in triage? You essentially decide who lives and who dies. Wow. Thank goodness we get training on this, and don’t have to completely figure it out on our own if a disaster happens! Yeah, it would still really suck, but it will suck a little less after having gone through this.

The quick version, at least in our county, is that you’ll have to tag people (with colored, non-sticky tape like surveyor’s tape, which you tie on somewhere ) green if they’re walking wounded, yellow if you can wait to treat them further (not life-threatening injuries), red if they have life-threatening injuries they could recover from with immediate treatment, or black and white (stripes) if they are 1) dead or 2) they’re going to be dead soon and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Again, this is heavy stuff to consider. Why subject yourself to these morbid notions? Because if the time comes when you do need to triage, you will have at least a little training under your belt. It’s better to sweat in training than bleed in war, they say. You might as well think now about what tough decisions you might need to make (and this doesn’t only apply to triage), because they will only get harder to make later, in an emergency.

We got to do a hands-on exercise, and kudos to our actors. Some were appropriately noisy (which I expected, but still added to the stress of making the right call) and some were surprisingly quiet (which I guess wouldn’t be a big surprised if they were shell-shocked, now that I think about it). We had to evaluate them on the spot, make a call (green, yellow, red, black & white), and move forward. We directed the walking wounded back to the door we came in through. It was a good learning experience. And just reading or talking about it wouldn’t have been nearly as good of an exercise. Doing this was important, and I know there is more “doing” to do. I’m looking forward to it.

As far as the first aid material goes, you should know this stuff already: how to not contaminate yourself with potentially deadly goo by wearing gloves, mask, and eye protection (if you have them), how to stop bleeding with pressure, putting on a bandage, rolling someone into a recovery position, and more. If you don’t know it, either take a CERT class, or better yet (as far as first aid is concerned) take a first aid and CPR course through your local Red Cross or whoever else teaches it! There is no good reason not to do this. Even if you’re handicapped, they will accommodate you. Please do it.

Another thing I liked about this class: even after taking an EMT course and a variety of first aid courses over the years, I never had to take gloves off when they were actually covered with muck (the goal being to not get any on your skin as you remove the gloves). I won’t give away the teacher’s secret (hint: it’s used in a mocha), but our gloves were actually coated in muck, and we learned whether our technique for removing them worked. A good test, indeed!

CERT Begins – Days 1 and 2 – A Critical Question is Asked

Day 1 – A Critical Question Asked

 

CERT class officially begins!

We started with paperwork. Not too interesting, at first. They handed out some checklists for 3-day kits, waivers, etc. One of them was an icebreaker, a simple set of questions. One of the questions “What are three things you have with your right now that you can use in case of an emergency?”

When the group went through the exercise, the answers were interesting, and it was a good way to start to get to know classmates. Some people thought their cell phones would be most important. Some people thought their vehicles would be most important, especially those with first aid kits. One other guy and I had written down “my brain” as the most important item. I’m sure that will come up later, especially when we cover “disaster psychology” (which I know is coming – I peeked ahead in the manual). This got people thinking, and led to another set of questions.

After filling out a few more forms, we started discussing three-day preparation boxes and what should go in them. After a somewhat disjointed conversation and many random questions (this idea was new to many, which is probably one of the reasons they’re in the class – good for them!), one lady thoughtfully asked “I’m a nice person and there is no way I’d be able to not help my neighbor in a time of need.  What should I do to prepare to help them?”

I’ll be honest – I don’t remember the answer the instructor gave, probably because it differed from what was bouncing around in my head at the time (or maybe my noisy, inner dialogue was drowning her out – that happens sometimes). Here is my answer:

You will need to 1) educate your neighbors, 2) prepare for them (stock supplies that they can’t or won’t), or 3) be ready to listen to them crying when you won’t give up your stores or fix their broken stuff for them. (I’m not taking evacuation scenarios into account in this case.)

Have you done that? Do you know what level of preparedness your neighbors have? Will they become assets or liabilities if a disaster affects your neighborhood? Do you think you should have answers to these questions? I think you should.

Consider these options:

  • The “Map Your Neighborhood” program (more on this later – I’ll discuss my experience doing it in my neighborhood) could be an effective solution.
  • Get to know your neighbors, if you don’t already. This used to be a common practice, but more recently it’s less common, with people moving from home to home more often, especially in more urban areas.
    • How do you do this? You’re clever. If you’re not friendly, pretend you’re friendly. You can find a way. Bake a pie and take it over. Find a way to do something nice, that fits with who you are, your best guess as to who they are, etc. Unless you’re already off to a bad start somehow, they’ll respond in kind and you’ve just kick-started a hopefully productive relationship!
  • And if you’re the gregarious type, throw a block party!

You don’t have to be a social butterfly to see the value in knowing your neighbors. They can be beneficial or a huge burden in a bad situation. Make the choice now, and educate them if they need it. And you’ll learn something in the process.

Day 2 – ICS: Incident Command System

I lumped day 2 into this article because I don’t have a lot to say about it. I have to give credit to our instructor for making it somewhat interesting by using a wedding planning analogy, but when it comes down to it, the Incident Command System just isn’t super-exciting to me.

That doesn’t mean it’s not important. We all need to get along. And by “get along”, I mean that I agree that it is useful to have a common command structure to use in the event of an emergency, along with a common language to describe who has which role, a way for different groups to work together, etc.

If you have any reason to interact with people doing CERT, Search & Rescue (SAR), or any other emergency management organizations, you should learn about the Incident Command System (ICS) because odds are very good that they’ll be using that structure.

The good news is that you don’t have to pay for it. FEMA makes training available online, and there are usually two courses you should review: ICS-100 and ICS-700.

It will take a little time, but it will also give you a good idea of what to expect on an emergency scene if you’re working with local, state, and federal government, and more often now, non-governmental organizations who also choose to follow this common (and relatively simple) set of guidelines.

Take a look for yourself. Don’t expect a page-turner, but do expect to learn at least a little bit.

Taking Training: CERT – Community Emergency Response Team

I signed up for a local CERT course and just took my first class. I knew that much of the content wouldn’t be new to me, although I did expect to learn something new – I always do! And so far I have learned some good things, which I’ll be passing along to you as I progress through the course.

CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Training. Many cities offer courses like CERT through their Office of Emergency Management (or whatever they call it). If you go to your hometown’s website (e.g., Anytown.gov), you can probably find a link to an office that deals with emergency preparedness topics for your area. If your town isn’t big enough, try the county or the state.

If a course is offered but not called “CERT”, don’t worry about it. The goals are largely the same, across the different courses, at least the ones I’ve seen in my area (Washington State). Please let me know if you can’t find anything locally. I would be happy to do a little digging to see what I can find, if you aren’t able to.

Why do you care about my CERT course? I’ll walk you through at least some parts of each class, so that you will be able to determine:

  • Would it be useful for you, friends, or family?
  • What topics are covered?
  • What should you expect to learn?

Such preparedness courses have a lot to offer, and as you read further, I think you’ll realize that if you haven’t taken a course, you probably should.

Here are some additional resources:

I’ll have post several more articles about the training, as I go through it, to fill you in on some of the details. Stay tuned!

An amazing little radio – the VX-8R!

The Yaesu VX-8R packs a lot of features into a tiny package. How tiny? Take a look! It’s about the size of a deck of cards, if you unscrew the antenna. Take a look at this:

VX-8R and a deck of cards
It's the size of a deck of cards!

What can you do with this radio? You can talk on four different amateur radio bands (50/144/222/430 MHz, if you’re interested), while listening to broadcast radio (for example, FM radio) at the same time!

 

VX-8R with Diamond antenna
This antenna is long, flexible, and very efficient.

You can use a Bluetooth headset with it, and you can attach a GPS receiver to the radio or to a an attached speaker microphone. When you have GPS installed, you can also use APRS functionality, which means you can transmit your location to other radios, can send and receive simple text messages, and more.

If you wanted to get creative, you could even attach an special antenna and talk to an amateur radio satellite! It can receive weather alerts on special weather radio channels, can easily communicate with repeaters, and more. This is an amazing radio.

The VX-8R has been replaced by the VX-DR and the VX-GR. They’re all small, powerful, and loaded with features. Take a good look at the specifications, since there are some differences.

You can get more information at www.Yaesu.com, on the VX-8R, the VX-DR, and the VX-GR.

Of course, the antenna adds some size to the radio, but you have many options, from very small (usually inefficient, for short-range communications) to longer (more efficient, if you can conveniently carry it). For example, in the picture directly above you can see the VX-8R with a Diamond whip antenna, which is quite efficient.  Soon, I’ll post a picture of my “stealth” antenna.  It’s very small, and very inefficient, but very convenient when I need to carry my radio in an inside jacket pocket and only need to communicate short-range.

Is the VX-8R the only small radio?  Is it the only one that does APRS?  Are some easier to use?  No, yes, and yes!  Some other common, powerful, feature-filled radios are Icom’s IC-91A and Kenwood’s TH-F6A.  And there are many more.  Do your research and you’ll find a radio that fits you well.  73!

Take a First Aid Course

Everyone should know basic first aid and CPR.  However, you probably shouldn’t attempt first aid techniques if you’ve never actually been trained on how to do them properly.  If you make a mistake, you could accidentally make a person’s injuries even worse!  There are a variety of options for taking a certified, safe first aid course.

The Red Cross commonly offers several different courses, and there is probably at least first aid and a CPR course available in your area.  You could also check with your local hospital or fire department.  Why take first aid and CPR?  Because someone you know, sometime in your life, will probably hurt themselves, maybe even seriously, and you should be able to help!  You may even save someone’s life.

Neat Trick:  One ‘tool of the trade’ you may learn about in a basic first aid course is a technique to determine whether a splint is too tight: you give a toenail or fingernail of the splinted limb a little squeeze.  If the pink/red color (which is blood flowing back to the area) comes back quickly, that means you are probably getting enough blood flow in that area.  If the color stays white or light pink and doesn’t darken again, then blood isn’t flowing as quickly as it should, and you may need to loosen the ties on the splint, in order to prevent even more damage to the wounded area.  But remember, this book is not a first aid course and I’m not a doctor – go take a real course with your local Red Cross!

Here is where you can find American Red Cross class information: http://www.redcross.org/en/takeaclass.

Everyday Carry (EDC) basics

Are you familiar with the term Everyday Carry? It’s also known as “EDC.” Long story short, EDC gear is what you have on your person all the time.

Aside from the common items such as a watch, wallet, cell phone, a list of things commonly carried by people who like to be prepared often contains many or all of the following:

  1. A pocketknife: This is one of the most common things carried on a daily basis. As long as man could shape metal, he’s carried a knife as a tool or weapon. A pocketknife has more uses than I can list here.  One example of a relatively inexpensive and high-quality knife, which can be opened easily with one hand and clipped into a pocket or waistband is the Spyderco Delica.
  2. A multi-tool: One of the most popular is the Leatherman brand of multi-tool.  Personally, I prefer the Leatherman Charge, and Leatherman makes several other very useful variations.  Other popular brands are Gerber, SOG, or Victorinox. These tools are amazingly handy, and often contain pliers, wire cutters, a knife blade, saw and/or metal file, various screwdrivers and more! With a multi-tool on your belt, you can accomplish hundreds of useful tasks.
  3. A flashlight: With a flashlight in your pocket (or on your belt), you can….. well, see in the dark! I guess it goes without saying how that can be handy in a crawlspace or attic, when you’re looking under the sofa, or just when it’s dark out. You can find a variety of small (or even tiny) flashlights that run off of a watch battery, or AAA, AA, or CR123 batteries. The brightness ranges from just barely visible to hundreds of lumens for a pocket flashlight.

With just these three items, you can solve a variety of problems, day or night.  There are many additional options you could include, for example a lighter (fire is both cool and handy, depending on your situation), a thumb drive (essential if you work with computers), pepper spray (OC spray, a simple and effective self-defense tool), duct tape, or extra medication.

One of the best resources for learning more about Everyday Carry is the forum dedicated entirely to this topic:  www.edcforums.com.  The folks there would be happy to help you with any questions, and have a ton of great ideas.

Enjoy!