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Thou shalt
always keep thine own self safe:
This may be one
of the few times when “looking out for No. 1” is socially
acceptable. In fact, this rule must be followed in every, single
thing we do in CERT. You, as an emergency responder, are CERT’s
most important resource following a disaster. Not your fire
extinguisher, not the CERTmobile…YOU. And if you don’t do
everything in your power to keep yourself safe and functioning (for
example, not running into burning buildings or picking up and
carrying victims covered in hazardous materials), you run the risk
of becoming a victim yourself, going from an “asset” to a
“liability.” Then, you’re not only lost to the emergency response
effort, but already scarce resources now have to be diverted to take
care of you!
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Thou shalt do
the most good for the most people:
It’s a sad and tragic, but unavoidable, fact that, in a major
disaster, we just won’t be able to save everybody. We can only try
to help as many people as we possibly can. And that may mean having
to leave someone who is too far gone (euphemistically referred to as
“unsalvageable”) or who would take too much time and too many people
to save. That’s one reason why CPR isn’t part of the CERT
curriculum; while taking the time to resuscitate one person, we
could lose the chance to save many more. This may be the toughest of
all the CERTmandments to accept.
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Thou shalt walk,
not run:
Of course, after
disaster strikes, there will be people that need help…fast!
But while we need to assist people in a timely fashion, it is
neither safe (see the First CERTmandment) nor efficient to rush
right into any situation without a proper “size-up.” Before
entering a building to perform search and rescue, we first walk
around the building (Is it on fire? Do the utilities need to be
shut off? Are there any hazards? Is the building going to fall down
any minute?). Before treating patients, we first do a
“head-to-toe” assessment (Am I treating a broken arm, when my
patient is actually going into shock?). Figuring out beforehand
what needs to be done and how will not only save time in the long
run, but will also save lives, possibly even your own.
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Thou shalt never
go it alone:
This is very simple – always have a buddy with you! Whether its
fighting a small fire, searching a building or even acting as
Incident Commander, no one in CERT should ever attempt any operation
without having another CERT member backing him or her up. You’ll
need that extra pair of eyes to watch out for hazards, that extra
pair of hands to help you extract a victim, that extra mind to help
figure out the best course of action, and, of course, that extra
pair of feet to go for help if you get stuck somewhere! But,
perhaps more importantly, you’ll get the enormous psychological
boost from just having another person with you so you won’t feel so
alone in what could be a tremendously stressful situation.
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Thou shalt know
thine own limitations:
Despite the
valuable CERT training we’ve all received, we are still neither
professional rescuers nor superheroes. There will be things that
come up during an emergency that we’re are just not capable of
handling, and we will have to recognize and accept these limitations
so that we can be true to the First CERTmandment (thou shalt keep
thine ownself safe). This goes for any and all limitations, whether
they are due to equipment (your extinguisher is too small to put out
a particular fire), training (a victim needs a tracheotomy) or
physical (you’re on a rescue team for victim extraction but you’ve
got a bad back). Regardless of the cause, you must keep yourself
and your buddy safe and pass this information up the chain of
command, so that the proper resources can be dispatched. And don’t
be discouraged if you have some physical limitation (bum knee,
fainting at the sight of blood) prevents you from doing each and
every job CERT might be called on to do. Rest assured that in a
full-scale disaster, there will be more than enough opportunities to
help out in any number of capacities, regardless of your level of
training or physical condition. Every CERT member has a place in
the organization.
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Thou shalt
always stay up, up and away:
This has nothing
to do with the 1960’s Fifth Dimension hit song or what Superman says
when leaping tall buildings. Rather, it has more to do with the
real estate agents’ credo: location, location, location.
Specifically, it refers to staying UPhill, UPwind and
AWAY from hazards when setting up your CERT operations, such
as the treatment area, staging area or command post. You want to
stay uphill so that your operations area isn’t either inundated with
flood waters or contaminated by leaking hazmat containers. You want
to stay upwind so that toxic fumes or smoke doesn’t blow back into
your faces. And you want to stay far enough away so as not to be
caught up in an unexpected explosion or building collapse. (A
tragic example of the latter case occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, when
the N.Y. Fire Department set up their Command Post in the lobby
of the World Trade Center.) In short, always locate your operations
where they cannot be adversely impacted by the emergency you’re
handling.
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Thou shalt
always follow directions from above: We’re not talking about
heavenly commands from the Almighty, here. The CERT emergency
response to a disaster is an organized team effort. It all
starts with one person taking charge, developing a plan of action,
delegating responsibilities, creating teams to handle specific
functions and handing out assignments, all of which is performed
through a “chain of command.” Since there is no such thing as “busy
work” in a disaster; every job that every team is given is critical
to the success of the incident response plan, whether it’s fire
suppression, triage, radio communication, scribe or whatever. If an
individual or a team decides that it just doesn’t want to perform
its assigned task, they can risk not only the success of the
response, but also, quite possibly, the very safety of the
responders. Therefore, each person on each team must either
complete the assigned task, or else notify their supervisor (right
on up to the incident commander) why the job can’t be done (too
dangerous, not enough resources, etc.). That way, if an assigned
task isn’t done, whoever’s in charge can make the appropriate
changes to the response plan.
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Thou
shalt never freelance nor cowboy: This CERTmandment is
closely related to the Seventh, insofar as every CERT member is
acting as part of an organized, team response, not as an
individual. “Freelancing” is the exact opposite of teamwork. This
is when one or more CERT responders go off on their own, doing
whatever they want, without consideration of the incident response
plan. Not only are these rogue responders failing to contribute to
the organized effort, their actions may actually work against
the planned response. Furthermore, since they’re operating outside
of the chain of command, if something were to happen to them, no one
else would know to help them or go looking for them. “Cowboys” can
be operating within the incident plan and the chain of command, but
do so without proper regard to their own safety (First CERTmandment)
or their personal limitations (Fifth CERTmandment). These people
are the ones hacking vents through the roof of a burning building or
trying to perform a tracheotomy because the saw it done on “ER.”
Both freelancers and cowboys are a danger to themselves and those
around them, and fail to contribute to an effective emergency
response.
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Thou shalt
always know the score:
In short, keep track of everything that’s going on. We always do an
initial “size up” (Third CERTmandment), whether we’re dealing with
the entire incident or an individual victim. However, emergency
response deals with fluid and ever-changing situations, and we don’t
want anyone or anything falling through the cracks. We must
constantly reevaluate the circumstances we’re facing, so that we can
appropriately adapt our response. Who’s on what team and which
teams are still in the building? Are any of the victims in the
treatment area getting worse? Are we running low on supplies? Is
that fire getting bigger? As long as we consistently and
constantly reexamine our situation, we won’t be faced with any
nasty, avoidable surprises and neither responders nor the victims
they’re helping will get lost in the shuffle.
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Thou shalt
always be prepared:
Just like a good
Boy Scout, this is the best way that we can be true to the First
CERTmandment (keep thine ownself safe). Following this CERTmandment
begins way before any real emergency occurs. Do we have 72 hours
of food, water and other necessary supplies? Does everyone in the
family know the home evacuation plan and how we’ll reunite
afterwards? Is there enough gas in the car? Have I strapped down
and/or secured everything that could fall down or topple over during
an earthquake? Do I know the location of alternative exits? Have I
practiced my response skills at a CERT drill? Being prepared
means having all the necessary supplies, equipment, training and
planning already completed and in place before disaster strikes,
which eliminates the need to try and figure things out while all
hell’s breaking loose. Even beyond that, preparedness allows you
the peace of mind, even during a catastrophic event (earthquake,
tornado, hurricane, etc.), that comes with the knowledge that you
and your family (and, quite possibly, your home as well) will
survive.
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