The Connection newsletter is comprised of articles written by the people from around the Country who are involved in community preparedness on a daily basis.

THE RUN AWAY TEAM
Frank Lucier, Editor
I got home from work the other day and my wife was reading the latest copy of NERTnews, a newsletter of the San Francisco Fire Department’s NERT program. She looked up at me and said, “you should be very proud of what these people have accomplished”, and I am!....Go to Article

CALL TO SERVICE
Sam Isenberger FEMA's Emergency Management Institute
 “My call tonight is for every American to commit at least two years -- 4,000 hours over the rest of your lifetime -- to the service of your neighbors and your nation. Many are already serving, and I thank you.  If you aren't sure how to help, I've got a good place to start.  To sustain and extend the best that has emerged in America, I invite you to join the new USA Freedom Corps.” (President Bush’s State of the Union)....Go to Article

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, & HOW DO YOU BEGIN?
Carrie Barnecut, BPA  Emergency Services Coordinator, Coastal Region, California State OES
I was contacted by Tim Murrell who is currently serving as a member of his Local Emergency Planning Committee in Albuquerque New Mexico. Tim read about BayNET, our regional collaborative for neighborhood emergency training that I administer. He is hoping to work with his city’s interested residents in Albuquerque’s neighborhood associations to enable the community to be prepared for response when fire and police are not immediately available....
Go to Article

CERT in the Rural Community: The Melrose Model
David A. Donnelly, FPEM, Alachua County Emergency Management, Alachua, Florida
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented in urban areas, initially to deal with earthquakes. Since that time, CERT has spread coast to coast to a number of communities to address a variety of disasters.

Alachua County is a mid size county in North Central Florida. It serves as a hub for education, medical care and commerce. Most of the 218, 000 residents live in and around the County Seat, Gainesville. However, the remainder of the population is dispersed amongst 8 rural municipalities and the unincorporated area.... Go to Article

MITIGATION ACTIONS BY THE CERT TEAM
Deputy Chief Joe Daly  Edgewater, Florida Fire/Rescue
The placement of blue markers in the roadway to indicate the location of the hydrants has been a great help to the Edgewater Fire Department. The markers enable the responding fire units to see the location of the hydrant as soon as they turn into the fire block, which increase the effectiveness of the size-up. The key to a good size-up is the position of the hydrant in relationship to the fire building. These blue hydrant markers are especially beneficial to the responding fire units at night. The headlights of the fire apparatus shine on the blue marker showing the hydrant location and help the fire officer formulate his strategy and the tactics he will use in combating the fire.... Go to Article

NEHEMIAH'S WATCHMEN 
Jill E. Lee  Rising Sun, Maryland
I along with my husband are the Team Coordinator’s for Nehemiah’s Watchmen, the first CERT team in the state of Maryland. We are a church based team of 27 members from Pleasant View Baptist Church in Port Deposit, MD. We received our CERT training from District Chief James Jackson, with the United States Search and Rescue Task Force this past February. We are now preparing for the NASAR exam, which will enable us to be a SAR team recognized around the country.... Go to Article

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR HAND-HELD TRANSCEIVER
C. Edward Harris KE4SKY, Virginia State RACES Training Officer
I started with a "handy-talkie" or "HT" when I first got my ham license. Today, as Virginia ARES / RACES training officer I recommend that new operators buy 2-meter mobile transceivers. They cost no more than a portable and today's equipment is compact, rugged and reliable. For portable operation, carry the transceiver in a briefcase with 17ah gel cell battery, such as is used in fire alarm panels or emergency lighting, with a telescoping 1/2 wave or magnetic-mount mobile antenna and coax. However, I will be the first to admit that this may not work for everyone. If all you have is a portable transceiver read the following and learn how to make the most of it!.... Go to Article

EMERGENCY CORPS RESPOND IN THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE
William Raisch, Emergency Corps Program Director, The Greater New York Safety Council
In the spirit of the Revolutionary War “Minute Man”, employees at both public and private organizations throughout the Greater New York area are organizing Emergency Response Teams (ERT’s) to provide immediate response to workplace emergencies including building fires, hazardous materials incidents, technological hazards and if need be, terrorism... Go to Article

MIAMI-DADE C.E.R.T 
Capt. Bob Palestrant  CERT Coordinator, Office of Emergency Management, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department
Since the program began locally in May of 1998, Miami-Dade County has trained over 1000 of our citizens as CERT members. One of the first groups other than neighborhood teams trained were Amateur Radio Operators. One of our goals is to eventually have a Ham Radio Operator assigned to each team or group during a disaster. Last year we opened the program to include businesses and schools. This year, we have expanded our involvement with faith-based organizations, and have opened the program to government agencies. We have taught Civil Air Patrol cadets and will be presenting courses for other youth organizations such as Fire and Police Explorers....Go to Article

SOUTH COUNTY NEIGHBORHOOD DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROJECT 
Kit Greenberg  Public Information Officer, Morgan Hill, CA
In the southern end of California’s Silicon Valley, a small group of people, led by Paul Staudenmaier, banded together eight years ago to found the South County Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness Project. Today as an incorporated, non-profit the SCNDPP is an organization of 40 active members dedicated to training volunteers to help themselves, their families and their communities in the aftermath of a disaster.  Among the members are 17 CERT instructors with 5 more in training.  The organization is a member of Santa Clara County Emergency Managers Association and a member of Bay Net..... Go to Article

CERT EXPLODES IN CLAY COUNTY SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES
Lt. Jeff Reynolds 
Clay County Public Safety, Green Cove Springs, Florida
Outposts, settlements and hamlets have formed the residential backbone of America throughout the nation’s history. Through the formation of these communities, people were afforded security and the ability to become self-reliant. Today, people live together in subdivisions and living communities for basically the same reasons.  Many of us shop, work, attend school and seek medical attention all within our communities enabling us to enjoy a degree of independence.... Go to Article

LOCAL SERVICE CLUB SUPPORTS DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Brian Waterbury, San Rafael Fire Department, San Rafael, CA
The Rotary Club of Terra Linda has donated $2500 to the City of San Rafael’s Disaster Area Response Team (DART) training program for the purpose of purchasing safety equipment for community volunteers. The DART training program provides citizen volunteers with skills necessary to help the community in a time of disaster. “The Rotary Club of Terra Linda feels this community program is extremely important,” says Don Jarvis, President of the Club. “We feel that if people are willing to volunteer 15 hours of their valuable time to learn skills that will benefit the community, then the least we can do is help them purchase much needed safety equipment” states Jarvis, and he goes on to say, “Every dollar invested in community preparedness now becomes priceless in a disaster.” Safety equipment includes goggles, gloves, flashlight, pack with first aid supplies, water bottle, natural gas shutoff wrench, hardhat, vest, emergency blanket and whistle....Go to Article

THE MISSING LINK IN SERVING PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS IN TIMES OF DISASTER 
Ana-Marie Jones, Fulfillment LLC
Northern California is one of the most ethnically, culturally, and geographically diverse areas in the world - and one of the most seismically active. It is also home to some of the most trained, knowledgeable, and sophisticated emergency response organiza­tions and personnel in the world. Yet, in most disasters, the same groups of people found them­selves without appropriate help when they needed it most....
Go to Article

S.E.R.T. SCHOOL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TRAINING
Michelle R. Hale Program Coordinator, Emergency Management Office, Kent, WA 
Kent, Washington is vulnerable to a variety of natural and technological hazards. School facilities, personnel and students are not exempt to the effects of these hazards. The Kent School District, Kent Fire & Life Safety and the Emergency Management Office have formed a partnership to train school personnel to prepare for and respond to these hazards....Go to Article

TERRORISM IN YOUR BACKYARD 
Carrie Barnecut  California Office of Emergency Services
The events of September 11, 2001, brought attention to the effects of terrorism in the United States. Even before the New York attack, a community in Southern California found itself dealing with terrorism in its back yard. An FBI investigation resulted in a search for potentially dangerous chemical substances in the suburban home of a lab worker. The searchers found so much bad stuff that they evacuated the neighborhood and set up a mobile command and cleanup there on the quiet street. Five days later the neighbors were allowed to return home....Go to Article

CERT AND THE NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL STOCKPILE 
D. Chris Springer  Vice Chair, AVERT
AVERT was asked to assist the Utah Department of Health in developing their response plan for the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS) program. The United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have developed an emergency response plan known as the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile (NPS) program. This plan calls for stockpiling vaccines and medications at strategic locations throughout the United States, which can be deployed within twelve hours to areas that are affected by a biological, chemical or radiological event. These supplies are contained in "Push-Packages" and are each sufficiently stocked (up to 50 tons) to provide vaccines and other medications for a varying number of people, depending on the incident type....Go to Article

CPR DAY SUCCESS - BOCA RATON C.E.R.T. MEMBERS VOLUNTEER
Amy Ross  Boca Raton Fire Department, Florida
On April 13, 2002 the American Heart Association sponsored its Annual CPR Day in Palm Beach County. Florida Atlantic University played host for this annual event.  This year 1085 individuals learned CPR....Go to Article

USING COMMUNITY RESOURCES IN YOUR CERT PROGRAM
Jennifer Teeler  Volunteer and Neighborhood Program Coordinator, City of Federal Way, Washington
In the city of Federal Way, WA our CERT program is coordinated by a member of the City’s Human Services department. However, as the CERT coordinator, I feel it is very important to have the technical information presented by experts and professional responders. Because of this, we draw from Police, Fire, the school district, and local industries to find CERT instructors. We are very fortunate to have a close working relationship with all of the agencies involved....Go to Article

BAY AREA CAMPAIGN FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS “BACEP” 
Amy Gaver  Executive Director, BACEP
Neighborhood emergency response training programs will play a leading role in the accomplishment of the BACEP mission to prepare at least on in four Bay Area residents for emergencies by the year 2006, the anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake....Go to Article

DISASTER PREPAREDNESS GOES TO SCHOOL 
Carrie Barnecut  California Office of Emergency Services
Participants at the May 16^th meeting of Bay Area Neighborhood Emergency Training (BayNET), participants generated this good list of ways neighborhood-preparedness programs can work with schools....Go to Article

Y2K IN THE YEAR 2002 
Jeanette Thomas  Y2K Kids, Becket, MA
John Koskinen and Y2K raised an unprecedented level of awareness around the frailty of our modern infrastructures that support the existence of humankind in the developed world. It appears the technically sophisticated developed world is much more vulnerable to collapse than the developing world in the event of a natural or self induced catastrophic event....Go to Article

ADVANCED TECHNICAL EXTRACTION TRAINING IN SEMINOLE COUNTY
Pam Amburgey  CERT Rehab Information Officer, Seminole County CERT Association, Inc.
Rescue Training Consultants out of Saltville, VA, conducted "real-world" training to Seminole County EMS/Fire/Rescue throughout the week of May 13-19, 2002, in Oviedo. The Advanced Technical Extraction training will enable the firefighters to respond to an "unusual nature call," of a trench accident....Go to Article

  Click on the mail box to e-mail The Connection Editor