A different look at CERT training - Levels-based Training

Hi CERT members!

I recently had the privilege to chat with one of the leaders of a Northern California CERT program.  He introduced me to their "Levels" training.  In their program once you finish the Basic CERT training, you are welcomed to the team and he reported that many people decide to stop at that level.

However, they also have advanced training for those who wish to become more proficient in a wide variety of disaster operations.  There also is some sort of recognition for those who reach those higher levels of readiness but I didn't get any specifics on that aspect of the program.

He pointed me to their website for specifics on the advanced training and I was very impressed so I would like to share some excerpts of what I found with you.

Level One
This is the basic CERT training that is a part of all CERT programs and ends with a disaster simulation.

Level Two
Requires the completion of 2 American Red Cross (ARC) classes - Disaster Services Overview and Shelter Operations (a background check may be required).  In addition, the National Incident Management System IS-100, 200, 700 and 800b courses are required.

Level Three
Requires the completion of the Emergency Medical Responder course (either ARC Emergency Response or ASHI Emergency Medical Responder) and CPR for the Professional Rescuer.  Licensing as an EMT or health care professional also qualifies you for this level.

Additional Advanced Training is also offered (some of which are offered in the San Diego CERT program).

An 8 hour module on Wild-land Fire/Urban Interface
A 4 hour course on Hazardous Materials Awareness
A 4 hour course in Traffic Control
A 10 hour course on Flooding and Swift Water Awareness
A state-wide, CERT Instructor Training program
Other Training
Many other topics such as map reading and navigation, Pet First Aid, Helicopter Safety and Auto Extrication are also offered for their CERT Level 2 and 3 members.  They have also partnered with other programs for cross-training of CERT members in areas such as Urban Search & Rescue (US&R), the Chaplaincy Program and the Animal Response Team.

As I stated earlier, I was very impressed with their "Levels" program.  It would be nice to see something like that available for CERT programs everywhere.

Terry Walters
Mira Mesa CERT

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter 12/11/2012

Good morning, here is the News:

Team Meetings—You can see our Team's meetings and other Team's meetings here:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Team+Meetings

In any month where we do not have a team meeting here in Mira Mesa, you can attend another  Team's meeting and get credit for it, or, if you really need a meeting credit and can't get to our scheduled meeting, we can usually work something out so you can attend another meeting and get credit.  Please remember, you only need two team meetings a year, and the credits don't accumulate to the next year, so once you have attended two meetings you have satisfied the requirement.  Of course, we hope you will go to as many meetings as you can manage, they are educational and help you stay informed.

Reporting Your Hours—We had some great CE's at the beginning of the month (hose loading and collapse survival). They both count for December, but if you went, you have to report them.  To repeat what I said last night in our meeting, Jennifer and I DO NOT get copies of the sign in sheets for CE's, Refreshers or anything other than our own team meetings.  You report your hours, we send a report to our leadership which is accumulated into a report for our battalion (we're in Battalion 5), this is then sent to our Program Manager who audits the reports against the sign-in sheets.  Yup, it's complicated, but it begins with you .  If you do not report your hours in the month that you attended an event, then you will not get credit.   It's tough, but San Diego CERT is way too large to do much else.  So, when you get a request for your hours at the end of a month (usually in this Newsletter), please respond with an email with a unique subject line such as "December Hours", and then list the date, name of the course, Instructor and number of hours you spent.  This also applies to Team Meetings, when you attend our monthly meeting, please report it.   If the class you took is not one of ours, please be sure to get a copy of whatever completion certificate they provide, digitally if possible, you will need to provide an electronic copy along with your hours.  If you have ANY doubt about a class' eligibility for CE credit, please ask for confirmation from us BEFORE you take the class.  Getting approval after the fact almost never happens, because we really want to encourage you to do it before.   If you have no hours to report for any given month, you do not have to send a report.

December Hours—What we said above about hours applies for the general case.  However, if you are going away for the holidays please report your hours before you go.  We'll make an exception for December.

My Absence—This next Monday I will be undergoing hip replacement surgery.  I wore it out.  So I will be out of the picture for at least a few weeks.  During that time our Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang will assume my duties.  So, from 17 December on, if you have a question, please direct it to Jennifer at zhinan@gmail.com.  Most likely we will suspend the News for a few weeks, unless there is an important announcement.  We will resume as soon as possible.

Best of the Holiday Season to you all, and thank you again for your commitment to CERT.  You make a difference.

-Steve

Food Storage Shelf Life

Food Storage Shelf Life:
Okay, most of us should have food stored away as part of our emergency preparedness.  Keep in mind that only specially prepared products like camping meals, MREs and true emergency rations have multi-year expiration dates.  That means those cans of beans,  boxes of oatmeal and jars of peanut butter all have varying shelf lives.
This website lists expected shelf life for a wide variety of goods and is a great reference for folks maintaining their supplies.

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

December Team Meeting— Our next meeting is this next  Monday, 10 December, 6:00pm—7:00pm.  We will meet in the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8640 Mira Mesa Blvd.  That's between New Salem/Reagan Rd and Camino Ruiz.  The Senior Center is on the North Side of Mira Mesa Blvd., so you must be going Westbound to get into the place.  Enter the first of two driveways, it is one way going in the first drive and one way coming out the second.  If you miss it, you should to go up Camino Ruiz, turn right on New Salem and make another pass.  DO NOT park at the IHOP, your car will not be there when you return.

This meeting will be mainly an orientation for new members, so I especially hope our new people can make it.  We will go over what you need to do to qualify for DSW, and some good strategies for doing that.  We'll also cover basic PPE and other gear, you don't need to spend a fortune to be effective.  You Veterans please bring Go-bags if you want to share them, and any tips for getting hard to get gear like first aid supplies, gloves that fit and such. 

Reporting Your Hours—If you are leaving for vacation this holiday season, don't forget to report your hours, especially if you took one of the CE's or the refresher this month.  Hours will probably be due close of business on 28 December, but you may send them in early if you wish.  As I said last time, please put DECEMBER HOURS in your subject line, don't just respond to this email and leave the subject line intact.

All for this week, questions comments you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

November Hours Due—If you took the Refresher or the communications CE, or anything else that would qualify for Continuing Education or volunteer hours, you need to tell me about it.  Please have your hours in before this Friday 5:00pm.  You can reply to this email as many do, but I REALLY appreciate a separate email with subject "Volunteer Hours for November" makes it stand out a bit more in my mail queue.

New DSW applications—Those of you who are qualifying for your first DSW card this month (two team meetings, two CE's) can turn those hours in to me this week also.  Again, a separate email with subject "DSW Qualifying Activities" is very much appreciated.

Continuing Education, Collapse Survival Awareness—Still open, but registration closes this Thursday.  Class is this Saturday 9:00am—Noon down at NTC.  This is a new and unique CE for us.  As CERT volunteers we should NEVER be anywhere near a building collapse, but we need to plan for and prepare for the unexpected.  Bottom line, this stuff could save your life.  If you know you can't crawl for any distance, this probably isn't your CE, but if you just don't think that you will function well in this situation, you might want to take this thing and find out.  There will be tight spaces and time spent blindfolded, but nothing that is unsafe of course.  You can get knee pads at Home Depot, Harbor Freight and very often Big Lots, and that might be a really good idea, I don't know, remember this is new for me too.

Continuing Education, Hose Loading—Also still open, but registration for this also closes this Thursday.  This one is this next Sunday 9:00am—2:00pm at NTC.  If you didn't take this over the Summer you have another chance.  Hose loading is a real skill.  This is easily one of the most interesting CE's I've taken here at CERT.  There is some physical exertion involved, but the whole point is that techniques have been developed to keep it manageable and safe.  You'll be working with the SDF&R training engines and real hose, this is the real deal.  I just don't think it is possible to have too many of us trained to do this.  Next Fall if we have a bad wildfire situation, our capability could be vital.

Go here to sign up for either or both of these.  heck, you could shoot down a year's Continuing Education requirement in one memorable weekend:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Continuing+Education+Opportunities

December Team Meeting— Our next meeting is on Monday, 10 December, 6:00pm—7:00pm.  We will meet in the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8640 Mira Mesa Blvd.  That's between New Salem/Reagan Rd and Camino Ruiz.  The Senior Center is on the North Side of Mira Mesa Blvd., so you must be going Westbound to get into the place.  Enter the first of two driveways, it is one way going in the first drive and one way coming out the second.  If you miss it, you should to go up Camino Ruiz, turn right on New Salem and make another pass.  DO NOT park at the IHOP, your car will not be there when you return.

This meeting will be mainly an orientation for new members, so I especially hope our new people can make it.  We will go over what you need to do to qualify for DSW, and some good strategies for doing that.  We'll also cover basic PPE and other gear, you don't need to spend a fortune to be effective.  You Veterans please bring Go-bags if you want to share them, and any tips for getting hard to get gear like first aid supplies, gloves that fit and such. 

Occasional Rant—As this year draws to a close, I want to thank you all for your commitment to CERT.  Many of you are going well beyond the minimum requirements, because being ready is what's important.  There is always a solid contingent of Mira Mesa people at every CERT activity, which says a lot about us.  I am very proud of this team.  Thank you.

All for this week.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter Nov 20

Greetings, and Happy Thanksgiving!  I'm sure we all have other stuff to do, I'll keep it short.  Here is the News:

Continuing Education, Collapse Survival Awareness— Saturday, 1 December 2012, 9:00am—Noon.  REGISTRATION FOR THIS ONE IS NOW OPEN TO EVERYONE.  This is basically what it says it is, instruction on how to survive when the roof falls in on you.  That should never happen to CERT, but never is a very long time, and in a catastrophe we may find ourselves someplace where we are not supposed to be.  There is a lot of important information for this one:

·         FULL PPE IS REQUIRED (Personal protective equipment).  By that I mean helmet, gloves, dust mask, long sturdy pants, very solid footwear such as work or hiking boots, long sleeve shirt and jacket and gloves.  If ANY exposed skin is showing, you will not be able to participate.  A limited number of helmets and vests are available for those who don't have them yet.  If you want to sign up for this, and were planning to get your PPE but have not yet, sign up and drop me a note, I'll help you get fixed up.  DON'T wait until the last minute if you need gear, let me know.

·         You will be blindfolded for the exercise.  It's actually a bare substitute for the real thing, those of you who have experienced absolute blackness know what I'm talking about.

·         You will be required to crawl on your belly in a confined space.  That means elbow pads and knee pads are a REALLY good idea. 

If you have any issues with tight spaces, this is not your drill.  Back problems, knee problems, recent sprains etc., not your drill.

Sign up here:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Continuing+Education+Opportunities

DO IT NOW, REGISTRATION FOR THE REST OF US JUST OPENED TODAY, I IMAGINE IT WILL FILL BY THIS EVENING.

Hose Loading—Sunday, 2 December 2012, 9:00am—2:00pm.  Still open, everyone must be focused on the holiday  Bring lots of water and something to snack on.  Basically you will be taught to  pack hose on a fire engine (or pumper).  You'll most likely be working with the Fire Academy's training engines.  There are three different kinds of hoses used by SDF&R, packed in six different bins on the engine, each packed a special way according to its use.  It's complicated.  You will learn how by doing, this is a totally hands on course.

Sign up at the link above.  This course is open NOW for all registrants, if you want to do this get in now, seats won't last.

For our new people—It's a bit unusual for us to have two CE's available in a month, and we often go several months without having one.  So please don't get the idea that we'll have lots of these for you to choose from.  You need two CE's within twelve months of graduation, so it's good practice to jump on these if you can make it.

December Team Meeting— Our next meeting is on Monday, 10 December, 6:00pm—7:00pm.  We will meet in the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8640 Mira Mesa Blvd.  That's between New Salem/Reagan Rd and Camino Ruiz.  The Senior Center is on the North Side of Mira Mesa Blvd., so you must be going westbound to get into the place.  Enter the first of two driveways, it is one way going in the first drive and one way coming out the second.  If you miss it, you should to go up Camino Ruiz, turn right on New Salem and make another pass.  DO NOT park at the IHOP, your car will not be there when you return.

This meeting will be mainly an orientation for new members, so I especially hope our new people can make it.  We will go over what you need to do to qualify for DSW, and some good strategies for doing that.  We'll also cover basic PPE and other gear, you don't need to spend a fortune to be effective.  You Veterans please bring Go-bags if you want to share them, and any tips for getting hard to get gear like gloves that fit and such. 

JANUARY Team Meeting—Please mark your calendars for Thursday, 10 January, 6:00pm.  We'll be meeting in the Senior Center.  Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang will be doing a wound care review.  We should have the Academy training kit, so it isn't necessary to bring your own supplies, however, if you'd like to try your own stuff out please do bring it along.  Ideally you should have practiced enough that you can do basic wraps in the dark.  Practice, practice, practice.

All for now, enjoy your holiday.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Joining CERT Information

It has come to this blog's attention that not everyone reading is familiar with CERT's sign up procedure.

This came to my attention via a comment left on one of my posts - which this blog, I'm embarrassed to admit, bungled in its handling.  I first published the comment intending to answer publicly.  But then realized that the writer had put her email address in it and might not wish to have that published.  So I then deleted it from the blog - not realizing that it was my last copy of her email address.  My apologies to the writer for not sending this via email directly to you!

The fastest way to get general information about CERT San Diego, including how to join, can be found at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department webpage for the City of San Diego.

Briefly though, you must live within the city limits of San Diego (this does not include Chula Vista, Del Mar, Poway, or Imperial Beach, for instance) OR you must be employed by a company with a physical business address in the City of San Diego.

Next, you need to attend one of the CERT Academies which usually take place several times a year.  After completion, you will be able to join the local CERT meetings and meet your fellow team members.

The webpage is located at www.sandiego.gov/fire/services/cert  There you will find various links including a sign up for notifications when the next academy will be available.

CERT Continuing Education Announcment

Good afternoon, here's a special announcement about two Continuing Education classes that just listed. PLEASE READ THIS NOW, and decide whether or not you want to participate.  Note that sign-up for the first CE is embargoed until 20 November, so it is a "mark Your Calendar" item for now.

Collapse Survival Awareness— Saturday, 1 December 2012, 9:00am—Noon.  YOU CANNOT SIGN UP FOR THIS ONE UNTIL MIDNIGHT, 19 NOVEMBER.  The Beach Team is sponsoring it, so they have priority until then.  This is basically what it says it is, instruction on how to survive when the roof falls in on you.  That should never happen to CERT, but never is a very long time, and in a catastrophe we may find ourselves someplace where we are not supposed to be.  There is a lot of important information for this one:

·         FULL PPE IS REQUIRED (Personal protective equipment).  By that I mean helmet, gloves, dust mask, long sturdy pants, very solid footwear such as work or hiking boots, long sleeve shirt and jacket and gloves.  If ANY exposed skin is showing, you will not be able to participate.  A limited number of helmets and vests are available for those who don't have them yet.  If you want to sign up for this, and were planning to get your PPE but have not yet, sign up and drop me a note, I'll help you get fixed up.

·         You will be blindfolded for the exercise.  It's actually a bare substitute for the real thing, those of you who have experienced absolute blackness know what I'm talking about.

·         You will be required to crawl on your belly in a confined space.  No, I'm not joking.  That means elbow pads and knee pads are a REALLY good idea.  I personally don't think I'd do without them.

I'm going to say what you new people need to understand and our Veterans already know; not all of our drills are fun, or easy, or comfortable.  Those same drills are the ones that can save your life if/when the really bad news goes down.  If you have any issues with tight spaces, this is not your drill.  Back problems, knee problems, recent sprains etc., not your drill.

Sign up here:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Continuing+Education+Opportunities

Remember, no signup for us until 20 November.  Those of you married to Outlook or Exchange will want to create a reminder task.

Hose Loading—Sunday, 2 December 2012, 9:00am—2:00pm.  Yup, it's a long one, they really pack a lot into this drill.  Bring lots of water and something to snack on.  Basically you will be taught to  pack hose on a fire engine (or pumper).  You'll most likely be working with the Fire Academy's training engines.  As San Diego will (finally) be starting a new fire academy soon, I have no clue how this was pulled off, but let's take the gift for what it is.  There are three different kinds of hoses used by SDF&R, packed in six different bins on the engine, each packed a special way according to its use.  It's complicated.  You will learn how by doing, this is a totally hands on course.

Why are we doing this?  Basically, so we might be in a position to help if/when we have wildfires as we did in 2003 and 2007.  SDF&R is organized into three different shifts, or lists.  Schedules are organized so that each Firefighter has a certain number of days off in a row.  In a wildfire disaster situation, the City mobilizes its entire First Responder system to help with the effort.  Clearly there are not enough engines and trucks in the standing fleet for every Firefighter, and as Engines are needed most in this situation, the City maintains a Reserve fleet.  This Fleet is brought together, usually at Station 28, the large station just West of Montgomery Field that you can see from S-163.  The ready engines are fueled and provisioned, and they need to be packed with hose rather quickly.  This would normally take a large number of Firefighters who are of course not available, that's where we come in.  I have heard some talk that we might also be deployed to the field to pack hose while Firefighters go through required field rehab following direct contact with the fire.  That's just talk as far as I know.  We  don't really know how we will be used when the time comes, but as always, if we're needed, we'll want to be ready.

I took this CE last Summer and attended the next one to document it.  The course was extremely interesting, to me at least.  There is a lot of technology, technique and tradition involved.  I highly recommend it.

Sign up at the link above.  This course is open NOW for all registrants, if you want to do this get in now, seats won't last.

New Graduates, you are eligible for both CE's.  They are both on the same weekend, but nothing stops you from signing up for both if you are in good shape.  If you don't have gear yet, sign up, then get in touch with me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter Nov 13

Good morning, here is the news:

Bad Information—is almost impossible to get out of the system once it is in there, and bad info breeds more bad info.  Last week I announced that there would be no meeting in November, then in the same news item I covered December's meeting.  Bad formatting, those two things should have been separate items.  Then I put out a "Mark Your Calendar" announcement for January's meeting, but called it the December meeting instead.  From my subsequent correction email, some of you got the impression that there is no meeting in December.  Thus it goes.  So, please read the following meeting announcements carefully, I will try to get it all straight this time.

December Team Meeting— Our next meeting is on Monday, 10 December, 6:00pm—7:00pm.  We will meet in the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8640 Mira Mesa Blvd.  That's between New Salem/Reagan Rd and Camino Ruiz.  The Senior Center is on the North Side of Mira Mesa Blvd., so you must be going westbound to get into the place.  Enter the first of two driveways, it is one way going in the first drive and one way coming out the second.  If you miss it, you should to go up Camino Ruiz, turn right on New Salem and make another pass.  Of course you could also try to get across four lanes of traffic on Mira Mesa Blvd., make the U-turn at Camino Ruiz, then the U-turn at Reagan/New Salem, just before 6:00pm on a weekday when it's dark out.  Your choice.  DO NOT park at the IHOP, your car will not be there when you return.

This meeting will be mainly an orientation for new members, so I especially hope our new people can make it.  We will go over what you need to do to qualify for DSW, and some good strategies for doing that.  We'll also cover basic PPE and other gear, you don't need to spend a fortune to be effective.  You Veterans please bring Go-bags if you want to share them, and any tips for getting hard to get gear like gloves that fit and such.  If we've got time (which I doubt) we'll take a look at the meeting calendar for 2013 and answer questions.

JANUARY Team Meeting—Please mark your calendars for Thursday, 10 January, 6:00pm.  We'll be meeting in the Senior Center.  Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang will be doing a wound care review.  If I know Jennifer, this will be very fast paced and informative.  We should have the Academy training kit, so it isn't necessary to bring your own supplies, however, if you'd like to try your own stuff out please do bring it along.  Basic wound care is one of those things we can't practice too much.  In a real situation, we'll need to be very competent and extremely efficient.  I hope you can make it.

Occasional Rant—the Rant is my little space for the occasional editorial.  Opinions are mine, and do not express the views of our CERT leadership or the City of San Diego.  This time I want to talk about situational awareness in light of my giving out bad data last week.  Information is like that, one minute it's a fact, the next it is wrong.  Having good information and regularly checking what you think you "know" is essential to maintaining your own safety and your group's safety as well as ensuring a successful mission.  Here are some essential items to remember:

·         Read carefully/listen well

·         Do not proceed if you are uncertain about what you just learned.  Ask for clarification.

·         Talk about what you are doing with your Team

·         Always ask "is it safe?"  Your safety is your personal responsibility

·         Always ask "it was safe the last time I asked, is it still safe?".  Things change.

Two of you caught my error last week before I printed a correction.  I'm sure some of you noticed it and wondered, then let it go.   That's fine for our current circumstances.  In an emergency I should have received a question from every single one of you who read it before my correction.  For you new folk, I think our Veterans will tell you that I don't make too many mistakes in the News, because as I said I know how hard it is to kill bad info, so I check my facts carefully.  Mistakes still happen.

That's all for this week, questions, comments you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter Nov 6th

Good afternoon, here is the News:

NEW MEMBERS!—It is with great pleasure (bordering on joy) that I present our new graduates from Academy 28:

Andrew Bazeley

Landon Bazeley

Beth Harrison

Grifffin Harrison

Michael Jackson

Congratulations to you all!  This weekly email is intended to keep you up to speed on Team Meetings, upcoming CE's and other news important to our Team and San Diego CERT.  It typically comes out on Tuesday, sometimes Wednesday, sometimes Thursday if I have had a bad week.  I try to get everything in here, but if you have questions about anything, reply to this email, I'll do my best.  For you veterans, this email and the next several will have a lot of info you already know, for the benefit of our new people.

Team Meeting—NO MEETING FOR NOVEMBER.  Our next meeting is on Monday, 10 December, 6:00pm—7:00pm.  I prefer to start and end on time.  If the agenda might take us past 7, I'll try to give fair warning.  This meeting and most of our "indoor" meetings through 2013 is in the Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8640 Mira Mesa Blvd.  That's between New Salem/Reagan Rd and Camino Ruiz.  The Senior Center is on the North Side of Mira Mesa Blvd., so you must be going westbound to get into the place unless you have a commendable off-road vehicle and a total dis-regard for safe driving practices.  Enter the first of two driveways, it is one way going in the first drive and one way coming out the second.  The RSVP next door gets really cranky if you go in the second driveway.  If you miss the place, you'll have to go up Camino Ruiz, turn right on New Salem and make another pass.  DO NOT park at the IHOP, your car will not be there when you return.

This meeting will be mainly an orientation for new members, so I hope you all can make it.  We will go over what you need to do to qualify for DSW, and some good strategies for doing that.  We'll also cover basic PPE and other gear, you don't need to spend a fortune to be effective.  You Veterans please bring Go-bags if you want to share them, and any tips for getting hard to get gear like gloves that fit and such.

Next Meeting—Please mark your calendars for Thursday, 10 December.  We will once again be in the Senior Center, 6:00pm-7:00pm.  Our Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang will be reviewing emergency wound care.  Don't miss it.

Refresher Update this Weekend—You new people don't need a Refresher yet.  I'll explain "Refresher" in our orientation meeting, and in a subsequent news.  You folks who signed up for this, take note of the weather change.  A cold snap is predicted for this weekend, temperatures in the low 40's ,and there is a slight chance of rain.  Plan accordingly.

That's all for this weekend.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.  NEW PEOPLE, please respond to this email, if I do not hear from you I will be contacting you directly.  It is important that you get the News every week.

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Solar Power for Emergency Preparedness

Solar Power for Emergency Preparedness:

Being CERT-trained, we all have a better appreciation for being prepared for the unexpected.  We all know to store food and water and medical supplies to get us thru the first few critical days following a disaster, but have you thought about storing electricity?

As we have seen in the news recently, it is often the extended duration of power outages that can cause the most distress and inconvenience.  Some folks have generators, but it’s not the most efficient use of potentially scarce gasoline to burn fuel to run a few lamps or charge a phone.

Those that know me know are never surprised to find that I’ve added another  new technology/gadget/tool to my inventory.  Allow me to introduce Goal Zero. I have been keeping an eye on portable solar technology for some time, watching it mature and become more affordable.  Goal Zero is a Utah-based company that truly embraces the ethos of living off the grid but still using all our personal technology.

  This is the Lighthouse lantern.  It has a built-in battery that can be charged by AC adapter, car 12V, hand crank, or solar panel.  Here it is shown recharging from the Nomad 7 portable solar panel.

Besides providing six hours of light with a fully charged battery, the Lighthouse has a USB plug (how cool is that!)  The battery is, as shown here, strong enough to charge an iPhone.

Here is the Nomad 7 solar panel.  This panel generates 7W of power and also has its own USB plug that you can plug your smartphone into and charge directly from the sun.  This panel requires direct sun for best performance.

Here is the Goal Zero Escape 150 kit.  The Escape 150 is the tall unit that looks like a Thermos bottle.  It contains a large lead-acid battery (150 W-hrs) that can be charged from an AC adapter, car 12V or from the sun.  The panel generates 15W of power, uses more advanced solar cells and is completely weatherproof.  I have been using the panel indoors to keep the Escape 150 fully charged and it charges in a wider range of lighting conditions than the Nomad 7.

Here you can see what the Escape 150 is great at doing, providing you a 110V electrical outlet wherever you need it!  Besides the 110 AC outlet, there is also a USB plug.  Here you see that I am charging my iPad using the AC adapter.  This unit can also power a laptop too.

In this photo, I have some Goal Zero LED lanterns plugged into the Escape 150.  These lanterns put out a lot of light and you can daisy chain up to eight lights.

As you can see, these items can be useful in so many ways outside of a disaster scenario.  Goal Zero items can be found at Costco (only when they have a show), REI and Amazon.

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning and Happy Halloween!   Here is the News:

NO TEAM MEETING THIS MONTH—We will have a meeting in December meeting which I will cover later in the News.

Hour are due—Please turn in your hours for October by the end of this week.

Academy 28 Graduation—This Saturday, 3 November.  We are looking for volunteer victims as well as Administrators for the graduation.  Check out Carie's email for 19 October, she covered it well.  Registration for victims closes tomorrow, admins on Friday.  If you find someone on Friday who wants to help us as a victim, shoot me a note right away, we hardly ever have too many of these, and chances are I can get them in.  Sign up here:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/register.php?id=528

December Meeting—I'm going to work something out with the Senior Center to meet there somewhere around our normal date in the week of the tenth.  This one will be primarily an orientation for our new recruits (if we have any, I don't know yet), so if you have some experiences you would like to share, or a well-stocked go-bag you can present, show up and help me out.  Those of you who are fairly new know that this is an important step towards bringing the new people into the family.  I will get this posted to the website as soon as I have a solid date and time, you should see all of the info in next week's News.

That's all for this week, stay safe

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Team Meeting—Jennifer and I have talked, and unless somebody really needs meeting this month to qualify for DSW, we're going to pass on November.  This meeting was originally scheduled for Thursday, 8 November to avoid another weekend meeting.  I'm sure that at least some (I hope a lot) of you are attending the Refresher the following Saturday as I am.  I will ask for input/interest level late in November about a December meeting, we probably will do something since we're missing November.

Mira Mesa Town Council Meeting—Those of you who are hooked up to the MMTC news probably noticed that CERT is giving a disaster preparedness presentation at the next meeting and I imagine you wondered who is actually doing this.   I'm the lucky speaker as it turns out.  I understand that I'll have about 20 minutes of a 2-hour meeting, and that's if the representative from SDPD doesn't show up to talk about the same thing and goes too long.  She/he will most likely be armed, so not much I can do about that.  I think you all know that I can do about 2 hours on preparedness if I start talking right now, so it's a challenge for me to stay under 20 minutes.   If you have never been to a Town Council, it can be really something.  Here's the agenda for this one:

http://www.miramesatowncouncil.org/mmtc_meetings.htm

Yep, they really try to get all that done.  They used to try to keep it to an hour, but I think they gave up on that over  year ago.  John Ly, Carl De Maio's very capable aide almost always shows up to listen to enthusiastic complaints about shopping carts and such, and there are always a few reports from our Supervisors or Representative's offices.  The volunteer groups rarely have much unless it is somehow a special month for them.  All in all it's a small town council grinding through a small town's business, if you ever had an interest in local government it could be pretty interesting.  Starts at 7:00, and they tend to get going right on time.

Refresher—If you believe you are signed up for the 10 November Refresher and you did NOT get an information email and ALSO a start time email from Carie, contact me immediately.  OK, some of you need to look in your SPAM filter first (you know who you are, I know who you are), but if you don't have those emails we have a problem that needs to be addressed now.

Academy 28 Graduation—We are looking for volunteer victims as well as Administrators for the graduation.  The victims can be family, friends, anybody willing to invest some time in our cause.  Administrators and Logistics Assistants need to be CERT.  Starts early 3 November (Saturday).  Carie did an awesome job summarizing what is needed and what you need to do in her email on or around 19 October.  I can't improve on it any, so please go back and review it (I'll send you another copy if you need one).  We all know graduation is a giant undertaking and a powerful learning experience for our new Candidates.  It's quite different being on the other side of this, if you have some time please consider giving us a hand, it will be very much appreciated.  Here's the link to sign up as an Admin, for the Victims sign-up see Carie's email:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/register.php?id=528

That's all this week, questions, comments.........

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Team Meeting— Tomorrow Night.  Wednesday, 10 October, 6:00—7:00pm (expect this one to run a little over).  We will meet at our rally point.  Please bring a camp or folding chair of some sort if you have one.  Our rally point is in Mira Mesa Community Park, on New Salem just East of Camino Ruiz. more or less between Fire Station 38 and the Rec Center.  We will talk briefly about the meaning of "rally point" and how we will use that place in the event of a catastrophe.  Then we will work through the newly introduced FEMA course on Firefighter Rehabilitation.  This is the sort of thing some of us might get involved with in a wildfire situation, so I want to walk through the basics and discuss how we might establish a rehab station on the fly if we had to, or work with an already existing station.

Here is a link to the Participant's Manual.   It is NOT required that you read this before showing up, I kicked it in just in case somebody is interested.

https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6360

DSW Card—If you believe that you have qualified for your first DSW card, or you need to renew, please contact me immediately.  Deadline for September submissions is this Friday, and I won't be able to do a lot for you past this Thursday, so consider NOW to be the last minute.  If you are still fairly new to our organization and you really don't understand the whole DSW thing, PLEASE drop me a note.  You only have one year after your graduation to qualify, and any one of us can tell you that goes by fast.  You cannot be a member of CERT without qualifying for DSW.  It's really not that hard.  Let's talk.

All for this week, please join me in hoping that the heat is gone for the year.  We could really use to dodge this bullet.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good evening, here is the News:

Team Meeting—Wednesday, 10 October, 6:00—7:00pm (expect this one to run a little over).  Let's meet at our rally point.  Some of you have not been there.  Our rally point is in Mira Mesa Community Park, on New Salem just East of Camino Ruiz. more or less between Fire Station 38 and the Rec Center.  We're going to work through the newly introduced FEMA course on Firefighter Rehabilitation.  The real thing is a four-hour class, so we're going to condense it a bit.  Basically after firefighters work a certain period of time, they need structured rest and recuperation.  This is a lot like treating for heat exhaustion, which I went over in the News last month.  Hydration, electrolyte replacement, cooling down and rest in the shade are the basic components.  Ideally an evaluation by EMS is included.  This is the sort of thing some of us might get involved with in a wildfire situation, so I want to walk through the basics and discuss how we might establish a rehab station on the fly if we had to, or work with an already existing station.

If you feel like a little light reading, download and look over the Participant Manual for the class before you show up:

https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6360

There are several interesting modules in this new offering from FEMA.  We'll be taking a look at some of them as time permits.

Telephone Tree—I finally have this distributed.  I'd like to run a practice before the end of this month, sometime after the Team Meeting, we'll see what works out.  Several of you have asked me about text alerts, and I have been promising it for ages.  Hopefully soon, it's a very effective tool, and I really want to use it.

All for this month, questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the news:

Hours for September—Please turn them in by this Friday, 28 September, unless you are signed up for this Sunday's Hose Loading class, then I will need your hours THAT NIGHT.  If you volunteered for Stair Climb, or took the first hose loading class, either is good for Continuing Education credit, DO NOT forget to report those hours or you will not get your CE credit.  Yeah, I'm being just a little strident here.  These opportunities don't come down the pipe as often as any of us would like, don't waste one.

Hose Loading—This class is now closed.  Looks like the temperature will spike on Friday, but still 86°.  A decent hat is a must, sunscreen, plenty of water, you know the drill.  You will be outside and actively doing things for most of the class.  There is a LOT to cover, so plan for it to run over by about 1/2 hour.

Refresher—The County  Office of Emergency Services (OES) is sponsoring a Refresher  Saturday 10 November.  No details yet, this is just a calendar placeholder.  If you just got your first DSW card in the last few months, you should seriously consider taking this Refresher.  A Refresher is a complex undertaking, so they don't come along very often.  Count on this taking up most of the day.  Although the County is sponsoring it, you MUST sign up through our website:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=SDFD+Refreshers

For each two-year period starting from your graduation date, you need one refresher to re-qualify for your DSW card.  Any questions about this, please drop me a note.

DSW applications—If you believe that you have qualified for your first DSW card this month, or you are coming up for renewal, drop me a note TODAY so we can start the process.

Team Meeting—In October the tenth falls on a Wednesday.  We've got the Senior Center scheduled, but we might move to the rally point.  Mark your calendars, I'll have more soon, promise.

Telephone Tree—We could use at least one more volunteer for this, during a callout it would be your job to call about six Team Members and accurately relay a message you would get from me or our leadership.  I'm going to update our rosters for this next week, so if there have been any changes to your contact info in this last year please let me know.

All for this week, questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Shockey Fire Road Closures

@SanDiegoCounty: Shockey Fire Road Closures: Shasta Way@Hwy 94, Tierra Del Sol@Hwy 94, Jewel Valley Road@Hwy 80. http://t.co/cJfsHMhy

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Street Fair—Thanks to all who came out for this.  Not a single no-show despite the heat, and everyone was right on time.  We've got a great crew here.  Special thanks for Jennifer for putting on the wound care demonstration.

Team Meeting—In October the tenth falls on a Wednesday.  We've got the Senior Center scheduled, but I'm pretty sure I promised several people we'd visit our rally point, so this might be the one.  More on this as soon as I've completely gotten over Street Fair.

Hose Loading—I attended the first session last Sunday (I know, right after Street Fair, sanity does not run in my family).  It was awesome.  Very well organized by Ben Vernon, who put a lot of personal equity into getting the equipment for this.  By "equipment", I mean three Fire Academy engines, one for each of the kinds of hoses we needed to learn about, so we rotated in three groups.  Near and dear to my heart was the fact that EVERYONE got hands-on with each of the hoses; you didn't watch, you packed hose.  Yes, there was indeed some physical activity, but our Firefighters have developed techniques for handling the hose that are real back-savers.  If you listen to them and do it their way, you'll be fine.  I actually thought the most difficult part was getting back out of the hose bed by climbing down the steps they have installed.  These steps are installed where it is possible to put them, not where it makes sense ergonomically. Watch out for them, and try to watch how the Firefighters do it before you try it.  What made this class really great was the amount of detail presented in little sidebar talks, where they told us how things really got done.

If you weren't there, PLEASE try to make the session on the 30th.  It will be a crime if we don't fill every slot, and I'm very much afraid that we will be needed in this capacity sometime this Fall.

Here is the detail:

Date/Time: Sunday, 30 September, 10-12noon (not really, it takes at least 2 1/2 hours, plan accordingly).

Location: NTC  You meet briefly in 89B, then right out to the engines.

Sign up here:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Continuing+Education+Opportunities

Best learning experience you have had in a long time, trust me, and it's good for Continuing Education.  If you have any questions about the class, especially the physical activity, drop me a note.  Can you tell I'm cranked up about this?  Git in there!

All for this week, question, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter Sept 11th

Good morning, here is the News:

Street Fair—We've still got some slots open, particularly in the afternoon, but if morning is what you have, and you are available, please drop me a note.  It is going to be HOT, predicted temperature 93 degrees, so good sun protection is a must, including a hat, hopefully something more than a baseball cap.  That said, if you plan to do the cribbing drill with us, sandals are not an option for you, and all things considered it would be best if you wore solid shoes anyway  if not your boots.    If you think you are working at the Fair, and you DID NOT get a note from me yesterday assigning you a time slot, let me know now.  Here is the detail on the event  again:

Mira Mesa Street Fair

Date: 15 September 2012

Time: 10am—5pm

Location: Camino Ruiz between Mira Mesa Blvd. and New Salem

We are usually very close to New Salem on the East side of the Street.  We've got some skills practice scheduled in wound care and rescue cribbing.  We'll be showing the Public how to load a patient in a litter, and how to properly size and wear a dust mask.  We will also be working with the Mira Mesa High School Air Force ROTC, a great group of highly motivated young people.  See you there!

It's Hot Out—I was going to include this in the Fair instructions, then I thought it might be better to share with the whole Team.  With this kind of heat, we all want to be on the lookout for signs of heat-related illness in others.  The Street Fair is a great example, where we will interact with a lot of people who paid no attention at all to the forecast and did not prepare adequately.  The following information is excerpted from articles by the great folks at Mayo Clinic, who put a LOT of good stuff online, and I highly recommend their website as an information source.

In general, heat related illnesses are categorized as either heat exhaustion or heat stroke.  Heat exhaustion  can become heat stroke, heat stroke is the more severe of the two.  Here is a rundown of symptoms:

Heat Exhaustion

·         Faintness or dizziness

·         Nausea

·         Heavy sweating

·         Rapid, weak heartbeat

·         Low blood pressure

·         Cool, moist pale skin

·         Low-grade fever

·         Heat cramps

·         Headache

·         Fatigue

Heat Stroke

·         Rapid heartbeat

·         Rapid, shallow breathing

·         Elevated or lowered blood pressure

·         Cessation of sweating

·         Irritability, confusion or unconsciousness

·         Feeling dizzy or lightheaded

·         Headache

·         Nausea

·         Fainting

OK, let's give this the CERT reality check.  We won't know anything about their blood pressure, might not be able to get a pulse, and in that heat, we all look and feel like we've got a fever.  So I'll be looking for dizziness, nausea, cramps, headache and fatigue.  In addition, heavy sweating and cool, moist pale skin indicates exhaustion, whereas a lack or cessation of sweating indicates a move to the more serious stroke.  Heat stroke is also indicated by an elevation in body temperature that should be noticeable even when the Patient is in the shade.

WHAT TO DO, get them out of the sun, at Street Fair use our classroom, even if we're having a class in there (Jen and I won't mind, trust me).  Cool them down, and I mean COOL, don't freeze them.  Give them cool water to drink if they can consume it, loosen tight clothing, apply cool cloths and fan them with something to get the air around them moving.  Get them to lay down if you can, and elevate the feet.

If your patient does not respond immediately, or you even suspect you might be dealing with heat stroke, call 911.  Better to pull the pin on this early, don't make the Guys start the race from way far back.

I look at everybody who doesn't have a hat on when it is this hot.  Children can be susceptible also.  Oh, and pay attention to yourself for these signs, they sneak up slowly.  Get in the shade and cool down.

Occasional Rant—It really doesn't seem like 11 years, although some of the memories have faded.  When the radio voice first mentioned that it looked like a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I told my Wife "I hope it's a small one", tops on the list of stupidest things I've ever said.  I'm still angry about it after this many years, and I still want justice, but I remember vengeance and justice are two different things, and a person's faith does not describe his/her politics.  In CERT we fight this battle every day, preparing against an enemy brought by Nature or our fellow humans.  Today is a good day to remember that what we are doing is serious, and has a greater purpose.  I am proud to serve with you.

-Steve

Top Notch CERT in Sacramento

Top Notch CERT in Sacramento:
We were at the California Capital Airshow yesterday and Sacramento CERT was there to provide first aid service.  As you can see in the photo, they have a very impressive ambulance-like response vehicle.  After chatting with them, I was even more impressed by the fact that they have TWO of them!  Sacramento also uses trailers which are larger than what Belmont or San Carlos has (no photo but we did see one on the freeway)

Emergency Signals Post Added

Hi Mira Mesa CERT members!

I have just added a new post regarding emergency signalling to the Back Channel CERT blog.

Your thoughts and suggestions are welcomed.

TJ Walters

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the news:

Continuing Education—Both sessions of the hose loading class are still open:

https://apps.sandiego.gov/ereg/cert/courses.php?grp=Continuing+Education+Opportunities

The time has now been set at 10am—12pm, Sunday 16 September and Sunday, 30 September.  Both sessions will be held at NTC.  There is some physical activity involved with this one.  Basically we will be learning how to properly re-pack the hose on a fire engine.  Normally the pumper's Crew would do this, during a wildfire disaster we may be called on to take on this task while the crew rests.  It's a simple but vital job that helps to keep our firefighting assets focused on fighting the fires.

And now let's hear from Captain Obvious; it's hot out.  It's been hot for awhile.  Despite the moisture, this kind of heat leads to very dry brush that has not burned off for over 5 years, and quite a bit of it longer than that.  Let's all hope we dodge this issue one more time.  If we don't. we need to be ready to help.  That's what we do.  I'll look forward to seeing you there.

Street Fair—Thanks to all who have signed up for a shift.  We can always use more, so if your schedule has firmed up and you can put some time in drop me a note.  I hope to have a plan in place by the end of the week, and I should be able to assign specific time slots and publish a working demo calendar.  One of the things we'll do differently this year is prominently feature our demo schedule in front of the booth, probably on a white board so we can change it if we need to.  This will encourage people to come back to us for a demo.  Not exactly a new gimmick, but a really good one.  Here is the detail again:

Mira Mesa Street Fair

Date: 15 September 2012

Time: 10am—5pm

Location: Camino Ruiz between Mira Mesa Blvd. and New Salem

We are usually very close to New Salem on the East side of the Street.  We've got some skills practice scheduled in wound care and rescue cribbing.  We'll be showing the Public how to load a patient in a litter, and how to properly size and wear a dust mask.  We will also be working with the Mira Mesa High School Air Force ROTC, a great group of highly motivated young people.  If you find at the last minute that you can put in some time with us, but you aren't on our schedule, that's OK, let me know when you can work any time before the event, we'll slot you in someplace.  We're going to have a great time folks.  See you there!

That's all for this week.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Aug 28 Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Street Fair Sign-up—The Mira Mesa Street Fair is Saturday, September 15, 10am—5pm.  OK folks, we could REALLY use a few more people for this.  Your support and commitment is what makes this our most successful recruiting effort, and I can guarantee you'll get some training in that you can use.  New Academy grads, if you don't have your DSW card and equipment yet, don't let that stop you, tell me about it and we'll work something out.   I can also schedule some practice sessions if you want to help but don't feel comfortable doing a demo in front of a crowd (to be frank, don't worry about it, the crowd won't really know if you are doing it right or not).  If you have never been to the Street Fair, you want to see this, it's pretty amazing.  We'll have our CERT trailer and at least one cabana set up.  Typically they put us at the top end of the fair, on Camino Ruiz East side, (north bound) one slot from the end.  Engine Company 38 gets the end slot, because they occasionally have to leave for a callout.  Members of the Mira Mesa High School Air Force ROTC will be helping us with demos again this year, these young people are a real inspiration and fun to work with.  Join us, we'll have a great time.  Please commit soon, I really need to have an event plan and demo schedule drafted by the end of the week, and I need to know who I can count on.  This counts as a Team Meeting for September.

There is no sign-up for this on the website.  Drop me a note, let me know when you can make it (morning or afternoon is good enough, we'll get to specific time slots soon), and if there is a particular demo with which you'd like to get involved.  Let's work together to grow our Team.

Situational Awareness—I'm copying in a note from our Program Manager Carie DeMarco, about an article she came across last week.  It's tough reading, people died, and it did not need to go down like that.  Those of you who have been around for awhile have heard me rant on about situational awareness often enough. Here the hazard is electrical, but it could have been any one of a number of things, collapsing building etc.   In this case, one cool head with a strong flashlight could have saved lives.  Maybe not all of them, these things go down fast, my point is, you don't need super strength or advanced rescue skills to make the difference.  Here is Carie's note:

When I read through the article below, my heart leapt into my throat…this is my biggest nightmare for any volunteer or Good Samaritan.  While CERT training teaches how to help others, the bigger part of the training is to help you keep yourself safe. 

For anyone who took the October Mira Mesa Haunt Search and Rescue CE the past two years and were upset that they were “tricked” and “killed”, here is a real-life lesson of nearly that exact scenario happening (please read the whole article).  The electrocution element of the drill was not put in to “trick” participants, but to present them with a real danger that asked them to think outside of the norm, to be on the look-out for hazards that are not totally obvious.

When considering what we do, danger is real.   I would not be doing my job if the training only focused on the obvious.  Volunteer Safety is always paramount!  Please, always be aware and careful!

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/23/13433684-2-good-samaritans-electrocuted-trying-to-help-car-crash-victim?lite

Thanks and have a good day,

That's all for this week.  Last month at our meeting we discussed putting together a three-day deployment bag, how is everybody doing on that?  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Aug 21 Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Street Fair Sign-up—The Mira Mesa Street Fair is Saturday, September 15, 10am—5pm.  This is a great opportunity for us to recruit some new Members and practice fundamental skills together.  Yes, we'll do some cribbing if we have enough people.  We can also practice wound care, carries, I'm up for just about anything, if you want to try it let me know.  Don't really want to do the demos?  It's not required, just man the booth and talk to people.  This counts as our Team Meeting for the month.  We're doing two-hour time blocks because experience shows that it makes the most sense, but if you have a special requirement we can work that out..

There is no sign-up for this on the website.  Drop me a note, let me know when you can make it (morning or afternoon is good enough, we'll get to specific time slots soon), and if there is a particular demo with which you'd like to get involved.  Let's work together to grow our Team.

All for this week.   I'm not going to miss the hot weather.  Stay cool, be ready.

-Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Street Fair Sign-up—The Mira Mesa Street Fair is Saturday, September 15.  This is going away the best recruiting opportunity for our Mira Mesa Team.  What makes it work is the amount of action we can get going around the booth with interactive demos.  These demos serve us in two ways; they call attention to what we do, and give the impression that we are a local organization of dedicated volunteers (which in fact we are, so it works out).  Bottom line, the more people we have, the better it works.  This year we will do cribbing demos again, and log rolling, so dummy gets another workout.  I think we will add rescue carries, still working on that.  Many have requested wound care also, if we can fit that in we will.  Once again those amazing people in the Mira Mesa High School Air Force ROTC are going to help us out.  This will be fun.  For your two-hour commitment, you get to be part of a truly great hometown event, talk to really great people, and get some serious practice in on fundamental rescue skills.  Don't have quite two hours to spare?  We can work something out.  Don't really want to do the demos?  It's not required.

There is no sign-up for this on the website.  Drop me a note, let me know when you can make it (morning or afternoon is good enough), and if there is a particular demo with which you'd like to get involved.  Please help me to make our Team bigger and stronger.  We really need it.

Animal Rescue CE—We just got word of this, The Humane Society is sponsoring a class on preparing for disasters when you have pets.  This is good for Continuing Education.    Check it out:

http://www.sdhumane.org/site/PageServer?pagename=prg_HappyHour

Note that there is a $12 fee, and they are holding it this Thursday, two days from today.  Only the Preparedness class listed first is approved, not the First Aid for Dogs and Cats.    Those of you who just got the DSW card, time to start working on your renewal.  This isn't as far out there as you might think, we have a LOT of pets here in Mira Mesa.  Sometimes in a catastrophe these pets get separated from their human families.  WE might have to deal with them.  I don't think you need to have a pet to attend this class, they should be able to figure out why you are there if you are CERT.

All for this week.  Stay cool.

-Steve