Community Disaster Volunteers Train & Perform In Burbank
Thomas Patrick O’Shaughnessy, CERT Team Member, Burbank

In Burbank, California, the Community Disaster Volunteer program has expanded to support the mission of the Emergency Services Division of the Burbank Fire Department beyond the primary CERT Training in a number of ways.  This was exemplified on Sunday, the 4^th of April at the BICEPP, ERT Challenge held in Los Angeles with community teams from throughout California and the Western States.

Where in the past the ERT Challenge has pitted teams from various companies; this time the invitation went out to teams from various communities.  An eleven-member team competed in the areas of Lifting & Cribbing, Search & Rescue, Medical Aid, Triage, Patient Packaging & Transport, and Fire Safety & Suppression.  The Burbank Team placed 3^rd and brought the trophy back to Burbank for the coming year!  This was an example of honing skills that are initially taught as part of CERT and integrating them in a Team Way to be coordinated with an IC and field communications to maximize emergency services in a variety of scenarios.  

Directed ably by the Burbank Fire Department’s Emergency Services Division Coordinator, Rich Baenen.  The CDV in Burbank are also composed of an Emergency Amateur Radio component, the BEARS [Burbank Emergency Amateur Radio Service, which supports the City’s EOC with a fully operational Radio Room being completed and part of the County of Los Angeles Disaster Communications service.  This communications arm also supports a city wide districting plan to mobilize both disaster volunteers and trained CERT teams based on the local fire stations as a nexus of their citywide activities in the event of a civil emergency or trauma.

Added to this is an Arson Watch program that places volunteers in teams of two to four to drive throughout the Verdugo foothills as eyes & ears for the Fire Department to look for fire danger activities while in radio communications with both Fire & Police Dispatch when mobilized.

Lastly the Burbank CDV have expanded their training to include two High School CERT classes, weekend training on particular skills every quarter that culminate in a drill utilizing those skills, and monthly evening training and performance drills for the volunteers who reside in Burbank, and many of whom work in the community.

The newest facet of the program is the training and setting up of a rehab unit to give assistance to the Fire Fighters and any victims at events within the city.  The hours supplied to the City of Burbank in support of this overall mission have for example given a high of 890 hours by 61 individual volunteers in the month of February 2004.

None of this would be possible without the support of the Fire Chief, Michael W. Davis, and the City Council of the City of Burbank, and its citizens.

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