This blogger has not had any contact with any members of Mira Mesa CERT in almost two years. However, I have been following many different CERT groups around the nation and even some international organizations. I would like to direct anyone interested in learning more about other CERT organizations to the Back Channel CERT blog which will be updated with content on a regular basis.
If there are any Mira Mesa CERT members who would like to become authors for this blog, please feel free to leave a comment to this post.
Thank you for your support of the Mira Mesa CERT blog.
TJ Walters
Friday, September 4, 2015
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter Sept 29
Hello,
Thank you for coming to the Mira Mesa Street Fair. It was an
event-filled day with great weather and great turnout. We borrowed the practice
extinguishers from Supplies and let people try them. We also had our faithful
mannequin "Buster" on display with bystanders carrying him on a
backboard. Many more people learned the importance of an emergency pack and
evacuation plan. Overall, many people came by to show their appreciations for
what we do.
Sam has posted pictures of the Street Fair on CERT's
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CERTSD (you
will need a Facebook account, and may need to add friend/like CERT SD to see
it). He has also posted pictures from the 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb, where many
CERT members were asked to help out as Course Marshalls throughout the 30
floors of the hotel where the Stair Climb took place.
Hours are due by the end of Friday, Oct 4th.
Have a great day.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Happy October!
We have new activities going on this month and next, so this
will be a longer newsletter. Have a hot chocolate and snacks ready.
Team Meeting -- This month's team meeting will
be a simulated Call Out Drill to correspond with the Great California ShakeOut.
It will happen on a Saturday with time unknown. That means we will call/text
you per CERT activation protocol and give you instructions at that time as if a
real disaster is happening.
If you have had a change of address, phone number, e-mail
address, DSW status, or change of heart to continue participating with CERT,
reply me NOW.
To those who are always waiting for "the call",
prepare yourself, dust off the CERT Manual, READ through Unit 6: CERT
Organization. PRINT OUT at least 5 copies of each of the empty forms to have
with you in your "always-ready" Go Bag.
CERT Manual (full, or with each Unit) can be found online at
FEMA.gov:
Scroll down and click on Unit 6 to read.
New CEs as volunteer victims -- SDFD is
conducting drills in the first week of November and will love to give CERT
members a chance to participate as victims. We understand these are long hours
and most during weekdays, but we want, as an organization, to establish good
relationships with the FD by showing them we are here and committed to help
them whenever/however possible. It is also a great time to observe how they
work and refresh your S&R skills.
Sunday 11/03 7am~5pm (NTC, Volunteer Hours only)
Monday 11/04 7am~5pm (NTC, good for a CE)
Tuesday 11/05 9am~8pm (NTC, good for a CE)
Wednesday 11/06 7am~5pm (Fiesta Island, good for a CE)
Wednesday 11/06 6pm~1am (night drill at SDSU, good for a CE)
Link for Volunteer: https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Team+Trainings/Activities
Wear old long sleeve clothing and PPE (helmet and boots).
Bring extras as they might cut off your clothes and strap you to backboards.
Also bring hydration, snacks, a blanket and something to entertain yourself if
you are not discovered in time. (NTC is known to have bad reception/limited 3G
when indoors)
If you know of youth groups who have group participation
liability coverage, such as Boys and Girl Scouts, they might also be able to
participate as victims through their Scouts. Contact Carie if you can provide
her with a direct contact to the interested party.
November Live Drill CE -- quick reminder to
those who have signed up for this drill, it has been moved from Sat, Nov 2nd
to Sun, Nov 3rd. If you cannot attend, contact Carie directly. You
will be on your own to organize and start a citizen response at the beginning
of the drill. Make sure to have all your gear, equipment, resources, and
documents handy. Know your protocols, especially what you can and cannot do.
Treat this like a real thing, and wow the FD with what we can do. :)
November Team Meeting -- After 3 months of
outdoor activities, November meeting will return to the Senior Center on
Sunday, Nov 10, 6pm~7pm. Topic is FEMA Module on Traffic Control and
Management. https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/28662?id=6358
That's it for now.
Love to hear from you.
Have a great week!
JenT
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Happy Friday,
It is time for our monthly team meeting.
Team
Meeting -- Sat,
Aug, 10th, 9am~11am. Carmel Valley Rec Center/Carmel Valley Community
Park, 3777 Townsgate Drive.
Turn
right at the entrance to the playground. We'll meet outdoor in the grassy area
by the amphitheatre near the bottom of the stairs. Topic is transport
techniques. I have a mannikin, backboards, litter basket. Let's see how well we
can secure/move him around.
Bring
vests, gloves, helmets/hats, sturdy shoes, hydration, and sun protections.
Bring extra tarp/blanket/ropes/sturdy chair if you can lend some to us. This
will be an hands-on exercise.
Invite
to Mid-City picnic/BBQ -- Sat. Aug 17th, 11am. Morley Field in North
Park. They have asked those who'd like to attend to bring something to BBQ and
also a side to share. It'll be nice to interact with other
CERT members at a non-training setting. Please RSVP directly to
Mid-City's Team Leader Gloria Applegate: gapplegate1(at)cox.net.
911
Memorial Stair Climb -- Sat Sept 8th, 7am~2pm (approx.). Every year near
the anniversary of 9/11, CERT is asked to volunteer at the 911 Memorial Stair
Climb event at the Hilton Bayfront next to the Convention Center. Two of the
positions (Field Marshall and Rehab Station) will count as CE, the rest will
count as Volunteer Hours. Lunch is provided.
These
go by very fast so please make sure you sign up through CERT's pages. The two
CE positions require Active DSW card or new grads within first year. The rest
is for everyone else.
For
info on each position's description and requirement visit:
(you
can click on the register button for each detailed description, but DO NOT fill
out the form through sdfra!)
Mira
Mesa Street Fair -- Sat,
Sept, 21st. 10am~5pm. I'll need help. Tell me you can help.
If
you're still reading this. Thank you.
One
of our member has recently lost his CERT go-bag due to theft. He's asked me to
let the team know if anyone is selling CERT gear through local classifieds or
craigslists to report it to authorities.
Hope
to see you at the meeting.
JenT
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Hello all,
Is it really an end of another month already? That means
it's time for the July hours to be due. There were many activities this month,
with the meeting, CE's, volunteer opportunities, and of course, the big
countywide refresher last Saturday. Please send them in no later than end of
work on Friday, Aug 2nd.
Also, I should be receiving DSW renewal forms with
qualifying hours from those who have expiration dates in Sept and even October.
Don't wait, send them in now if you already finish all your required hours.
New graduates, if you have already finished 2 CE's and 2
Team Meetings since your graduation, please send me a line so I can get your
1st DSW application started.
If you have questions, forms and procedures can be found
here:
Team Meeting -- Sat, Aug, 10th, 9am~11am. Carmel
Valley Rec Center/Carmel Valley Community Park, 3777 Townsgate Drive.
We'll meet outdoor in the grassy area by the amphitheatre
near the bottom of the stairs. Topic is rescue/transport techniques such as securing
patients on backboards after a full head-to-toe assessment, alternative patient
transport techniques with blankets/chairs, and tight spaces maneuvering, over
obstacles, or up/down stairs.
Bring vests, gloves, helmets/hats, sturdy shoes, hydration,
and sun protections. Bring tarp/blanket/ropes/sturdy chair if you can lend some
to us. This will be an hands-on exercise. Also you're more than welcome to
bring the family since the playground and picnic tables are within close
proximity, and CERT team meetings are supposedly open to the public.
Please reply to this email and let me know if you can make
it. It's nice to have a head count and know how many will show up.
Mira Mesa Street Fair -- Sat, Sept, 21st. 10am~5pm.
This is an all-day event and I'm hoping for a great turnout from all our
members. I'll need people for Set-Up, morning, afternoon, and tear-down shifts,
with at least 3 people at the booth at any given time. This will count as our
Sept team meeting. We'll also have different demonstrations throughout the
event. Please email me your availability.
More info about the street fair can be found here:
That's all I have for now.
Email me and say hi :)
Jennifer Tang
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Hello all,
Thank you for those who helped at the parade. If you have
pictures of the green vests, please share them to me, or to https://www.facebook.com/CERTSD .
Team
Meeting -- tonight. Wed, July 10th, 6-7 pm, Mira Mesa Senior Center, topic:
Firefighter Rehab supplemental FEMA module
If
we have time we will also talk about the Personal Preparedness CE from last
month and share stories.
Refresher
-- There
are still spots available for the countywide refresher on Saturday 7/27,
9am~130pm. You will have to travel a bit down to Spring Valley but it should be
a great refresher. We can never get enough of these so please be there. Sign up
for either slots is good.
Also
a good time to physically take your DSW card out to see how many more team
meetings, CE's, or refreshers you need before your renewal date.
Have
a good day.
Jennifer
Monday, July 1, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Hello July,
Hours Due -- Please turn in hours by end of today.
For each activity, please list Date, Name of activity, and Time/duration for
it. Red Cross/AHA First Aid/CPR class, and initial HAM radio certification
class, are also good for CE credits. Reminder, writing, "I saw you at that
CE that day" is NOT reporting hours.
July 4th County Fair Parade -- Every so often
outside agencies ask for help from CERT members. This is one of them.
July 4th Hometown Heroes Parade at the San Diego County Fair
They need people to deploy large USA flag and may be carry
other flags, too, during the ceremonies in the evening. CERT members will wear
their vest and helmet during the time. The rest of the day is free fair time
for you and your family. They offer up to 4 tickets per participant. You will
receive CERT Volunteer Hours for your time.
Contact info:
If you are interested in helping out at the Parade, please
contact Wayne at (760) 270-7455 instead, no email.
You will be asked to be at the O'Brien gate at 9 am (the
front main gate) for the Fair's Opening Ceremony. So time your
parking/shuttling/security checking time accordingly.
Then they'll like you to be near the Arena Gate (by the
Hero's Memorial, #30 Purple on the map) at 5:30 pm to bring the flag to Grand
Stand.
More info here:
Things are changing on their end too as they might have
other activities planned.
But this is the latest I've received on it. Sorry on the
confusion.
Thanks,
General info about the parade:
Map of Fair:
Team Meeting -- Wed, July 10th, 6-7 pm, Senior
Center, topic: Firefighter Rehab supplemental FEMA module
That's it for this week.
See you at the fair.
Jennifer Tang
Friday, June 28, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Good morning,
It is the end of another month and that means it's time to
send your monthly hours in. Please remember to include the hours for CE's since
they can last from 2 to 4 hours and I won't know what to report unless you tell
me. Last day is Monday, the first of July.
Team
Meeting -- Next
meeting is July 10th, Wednesday, at the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 6~7 pm. Topic
is FEMA CERT supplementary module on Firefighter Rehab. Info at link below.
Countywide
Refresher -- The
original June 22nd Refresher has been rescheduled to July 27th.
For those who cannot make the July date please respond directly to Carie's
email.
DSW
Renewal -- Please
check your DSW expiration date. Renewal Submissions Forms and qualifying hours
(2 team meetings and 2 CE's per year for 2 years, plus 1 refresher) need to be
sent in at least one month ahead of your expiration date to give the Office
time to process your paperwork.
Form
and procedure is here:
Have a great day.
JenT
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Hello,
Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend.
Now let's get back to business.
We have a few things planned for the summer and autumn.
May Hours -- Hours for May are due by the end of
business this Friday, May 31st. Thank you for those who have already turned
them in. If you volunteered for the Academy graduation, had a CE, or went to
this month's meeting, remember to report your hours.
Team Meeting -- Monday, June 10th, 6-7pm at the
Senior Center. But instead of the ICS review, we're switching to review Fire
Suppression and home fire safety instead. Very useful in this unstable hot/cold
weather we are currently experiencing. I will also try to borrow the fire
extinguishers from the CERT trailer so we can practice on how to operate them
on the grass outside.
New CE! -- Wednesday, July 17, 6-8pm at NTC Classroom
2. This will be a Search & Rescue and Cribbing CE, taught by our own SDFD
USAR team experts. Sign up now since good hands-on CEs like this get filled up
very fast.
Mira Mesa
Street Fair -- Saturday, September
21st. Remember to keep this date open. :)
The Great
California ShakeOut -- Saturday,
October 19th. We are planning a city-wide CERT activation exercise in
accordance with the Annual California ShakeOut. CERT program coordinator will
provide a pre-determined scenario and we will use our telephone tree to relay
info to all team members (just like a real CERT activation). After reaching the
rally point we will make contact with IC, and there will be designated drills
for each team to perform.
Due to the
size and scope of this exercise we need to have a strong show of interest to
participate to get the ball rolling. Please respond ASAP, but no later than
our meeting, June 10th, if you are most definitely/highly likely/or won't
be able to participate.
For any questions, comments, funny stories you want to
share, my Inbox is always open.
JenT
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter 5/1/13
Good morning, here is the news:
Hours Due—Your hours for April are due, if you caught
one of those CE's or attended a meeting please report it to Jennifer zhinan@gmail.com, TODAY if at all possible
Team Meeting—Thursday, 9 May, 6:00pm at the Senior
Center. We have a triage review on the schedule. See you there.
Refresher—The upcoming refresher is full, but if you
have just discovered that you really need one, get on the wait list, usually
you have a pretty good chance. Saturday 18 May, starting at 9:30,
location TBD. They are supposed to go at least four hours, don't count on
getting out right at 1:30. Snacks are a good idea, as for water, do we
really need to tell you?
All for this week, stay safe.
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter - 4/24/13
Good morning, here is the news.
Animal Handling—The session for Monday, 29 April is
still open. 6-8pm at County Department of Animal Services 5480 Gaines St,
SD 92110. Here is the map link:
Take a careful look at the map (or fire up the GPS) if
you aren't familiar with the area, it's a bit tricky. This is good for
Continuing Education credit. Learning to properly deal with house
pets etc. in an emergency is one of those things, we hope we don't have to do
it, but that's not the way to bet.
Bomb and HAZMAT Awareness CE—This is full, you can
get on the wait list. If you think you are registered for this and you
did NOT get a map to the Cache direct from Carie last week (sometime around
Monday), let Jennifer know right away (zhinan@gmail.com).
Drill with USAR and TRT—Scheduled for 2 November
(Saturday). As I said yesterday, this is an extraordinary learning
experience. No time frame or place yet, count on starting early and
spending the day. PPE is required, and pretty much everything you would
bring to a real emergency (well, ok if you have your own litter/cribbing, Jaws
of Life etc. you may not need that stuff). I know, this one is far off,
don't let that stop you from signing up. This is good for Continuing
Education and CE's may be few and far between around then, so give this one
some thought.
Sign up for all of these drills here:
Team Meeting—Thursday, 9 May. A day early to
avoid a Friday meeting. At the Senior Center 6-7pm. We will have a
review of triage procedures. Get this on your calendar, and we'll see you
there.
Hours Due—Not until next Tuesday really, and we'll
have a reminder on that day in the News, but if you think you will be
unavailable or really busy around that time frame AND you don't have anything
else scheduled for the month, you can send your hours in to Jennifer at zhinan@gmail.com.
Occasional Rant—Mixed in with our sorrow and anger
over the senseless bombings in Boston I'm sure we all feel tremendous pride in
the quality of the First Response. While no fatality is acceptable,
counting the death toll against the number and severity of the injuries is a
mute testimonial to the speed and competence of the reaction, followed by
efficient evacuation and magnificent trauma care. They did well.
When our time comes, we may be the point on that spear. I look forward to
seeing you at our next meeting.
All for this week. Stay safe and vigilant.
-Steve
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter 4/9/13
Good morning, here is the News:
Team Meeting—Tomorrow Night, Wednesday, 10 April,
6:00pm—7:00pm in the Mira Mesa Senior Center. This will be a general
review of the ICS command structure, with a special emphasis on
Logistics. Please bring some paper and your preferred writing
instrument, we'll have some hands-on work. Logistics is not
necessarily hard, it's just somewhat of a different mindset. Under our
most likely circumstances it can require a fair amount of really creative
thinking. See you there.
Upcoming Training—Hopefully some of you made it into
tonight's triage CE. If you did, please let us know, and we hope that you
can join us for a meeting in the near future to share what you learned.
We'll have more notice for most of them. That said, we have approval to
hold at least one Refresher sometime in the next month. Due to the length
of these drills (usually 4 hours or so), it will probably be on a
weekend. Those of you who have been with us for awhile know that there
is really only one strategy for refreshers; as soon as you enter a two-year
qualifying window, grab the very first one you can possibly get to. Don't
wait, they have a nasty habit of being scarce when you need one, and there is
no way to replace a refresher. I (Steve) personally enjoy them quite a
bit, there is always something new to learn and it's a good tune-up of basic
skills. If you currently hold a DSW card and you have never taken a
Refresher, you need one. If you aren't sure, please ask.
This Saturday's CE—You should have all received a
direct communication from our Program Manager Carie DeMarco regarding another
CE this Saturday. If you DID NOT get anything from Carie, please let Jen
or me know right away.
All for this week. See you at the meeting.
-Steve
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter 4/2/13
Good morning, here is the News:
Team Meeting—Wednesday, 10 April, 6:00pm—7:00pm in
the Mira Mesa Senior Center. We'll work on ICS this next meeting, and
push fire suppression/safety off until June. This will be a general
review of the ICS command structure, with a special emphasis on
Logistics. Logistics is at once often misunderstood and critically
important to a large scale exercise such as a disaster response. It is
very likely that CERT would be involved with logistics in a major response,
which is why we want to spend some time on this. See you there.
Disaster Resource—One of the Beach
Team folk sourced this guide on Amazon. It's a Kindle book entitled
"Build the Ideal Bug Out Bag: The Ultimate Guide to Preparing a 72 Hour
Survival Kit for Surviving Comfortably". I think it might have been
free to all last week, this week you have to pay $2.99 or have an Amazon Prime
account (which I'm guessing some of you do). If you don't have a Kindle and
don't want to get one, you can get a free reader for your PC from Amazon here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_pc_mkt_lnd?docId=1000426311
There are quite a
few of these little publications available on Amazon, it's worth a look now and
then
Volunteer Passes—At our last Leadership meeting Carie
passed out some Volunteer passes for complimentary admission to many of the
exhibits in Balboa Park. They are good for the month of April.
There are some restrictions, but if you think you might use one of these to go
to a Museum etc. drop Jen a note. She has a few, and we can try to get
more if there is real interest
That's all for
the week. Stay safe.
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Good morning, here is the News:
Hours Due—Hours for March are due by end of the day
this Thursday 28 March. If any of you marched in the St. Patrick's Day
parade, please report it for volunteer hours. Send your hours to Jennifer
at zhinan@gmail.com. If you made it
into the COMM CE scheduled for this Saturday, you can report your hours on
Sunday, the rest of you please stick to the Thursday deadline, really helps us
out.
Team Meeting—Wednesday, 10 April, 6:00pm—7:00pm in
the Mira Mesa Senior Center. We have a change of plan, it turns out that
the current Academy class is also doing fire suppression that week. We'd
be pressed to get the practice extinguishers back to them in time. So we
are swapping modules, we'll work on ICS this next meeting, and push fire
suppression/safety off until June. Jen and I will work out a program, I
think we might put an emphasis on Logistics, as there always seems to be some
confusion about what this activity does. Logistics is something CERT may
be involved in when we have a large scale emergency. It tends to be easy
to conceptualize, difficult to implement. I usually think of it like
this:
·
What needs to get there, and where is
"there"?
·
In what order does it need to get there?
·
When does it need to get there?
·
How will we get it there?
·
How do we keep track of it?
There you go. Simple. Ok, maybe not, we'll try
to put together some sort of tabletop exercise to help us get our brains around
this. This subject is anything but dull, in a real emergency the success
of the operation depends on successful logistics, and strong leaders put their
best creative minds on it.
All for this week, stay safe.
-Steve
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter
Good morning, here is the News:
Team Meeting—Wednesday, 10 April, 6:00—7:00pm, at the
Senior Center. We're back to our 6:00 start. Subject will be Fire
Suppression and electrical/gas safety. We'll have a discussion on the
chemistry and safety of fire, as well as some practical stuff about electricity
and the various gases in common use in our area. We should be able to get
the practice extinguishers normally used with the BullEx training system, so we
can all get some practice on our approach/suppression/withdraw
techniques. We usually try to end on time, but count on this one running
a bit later if we need to in order for everyone to get a chance with the
extinguishers. Also, we will probably be outside for much of the
meeting, please dress appropriately and prepare to get a little bit wet (the
practice extinguishers use compressed water).We haven't exactly told the Senior
Center what we are doing yet, hopefully it's not an issue, but we'll find out
next week.
St. Patrick's Day Parade—The parade/breakfast is this
Saturday. If you want to go, and need the details, shoot Steve a note
TODAY.
That's all for this week. Happy St. Patrick's Day,
stay safe.
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