Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News:

Team Meeting—Thursday, 9 August, 6-7pm, in the Senior Center.  Our primary topic will be the coming Fire Season.  We'll talk about CERT participation in a progressive disaster such as this.  Input from our veterans who have been through this before is appreciated, please let me know if you were there and would like to make a short presentation (no, you don't have to do the whole meeting, 5 minutes is fine).

Volunteer Opportunity—This is tomorrow (Thursday) morning, really sorry for the short notice, but sometimes it's like that.  One of our Rancho Penasquitos Members participates in a Summer Camp for children of the Employees of Scripps Green hospital.  They are doing a learning session for the children that covers Disaster Preparedness.  Emphasis will be on certain rescue carries (or drags I guess) that children can perform.  There will be 3-4 classes, 7-8 children each, ages about 8-13.  They are looking for a few good people to help out as Assistant Instructors.  If you want to do this, you'll need to be at Scripps Green Hospital tomorrow morning at 8am for orientation, the class ends at 11:00am.  Full CERT gear has been approved for this, and is encouraged but not required.  Really helpful if you remember your rescue carries and can demonstrate a few of them.  This is  late notice so they aren't really counting on us, but I don't think there is any way this won't be a REALLY good time, so I'm putting it out there.  Let me know THIS MORNING (Wednesday) if you want to do this, I will put you in touch with the Scripps people directly.

All for this week.  Not much for Battalion News today, I'll put it out before the end of the week if I get anything you can use.  Questions, comments, you know how to find me.

-Steve

Fire Season Bug Out List

     Fire season is fast approaching and there are a lot of good ideas on planning for evacuations. For example, take a look at Steve's container idea in the previous post. There really is no right or wrong to evacuation plans - except for having no plan at all.

     During the 2003 fire here in San Diego, I got to see an example of someone not having a plan for evacuation. The fire had already taken dozens of homes in the Scripps Ranch suburb of San Diego when a TV camera crew spotted a lady leaving her house in an area that had just been ordered to evacuate. She was walking a little unsteadily to her car carrying a potted fern. Her car looked otherwise empty and I remember thinking, she's in shock and didn't know what to take. So she just grabbed the first thing she saw - a potted fern. She got in the car and left her house and who knows how much she lost to the fire which consumed the entire neighborhood. That image stayed with me while I kept thinking there had to be some things far more precious than a potted fern which she left and she now sorely misses. If she'd only had a evacuation plan so she didn't have to think about what to take during the crisis.

     I started looking around at various plans but finally settled on a concept I call a "Bug-Out List". It has some major benefits compared to other plans. It doesn't make any assumptions on who is at home or how much time you have to evacuate. It doesn't matter if you have 3 minutes, 3 hours or even 3 days to evacuate. It mostly requires you to sit down with your family and create a list of things to get in order of importance.

     So let's begin building the list.. First let's assume that you are in bed asleep and that when you wake there are no lights or power and it's the middle of a dark, overcast night - no moon or stars to help you see. A big earthquake could cause something like this and we should be thinking about a worst case scenario.

     First thing you should be able to grab right at your bedside is a good flashlight however your cell phone can also double as a flashlight in a pinch. Next, hard-soled shoes for everyone in case there is glass or sharp objects on the floor or outside. Did you know that feet being cut by glass was the most common injury in the 1992 LA earthquake?

     So far we're only talking a minute or two getting our feet protected. Next, you probably want to grab your clothes and jackets. Just grab them - don't stop to put them on if it's dangerous inside but we need them if we have to go outside. Even the warmest evenings can quickly get miserable if we're outside in our pajamas.

     Ok, here's our list so far which assumes we only had 3 minutes to evacuate because of an immediate disaster such as fire or earthquake.

1. Flashlight
2. Shoes
3. Clothes
4. Jackets

     Now let's change the evacuation time to 30 minutes and keep adding to our list additional items in order of importance. Once we've escaped the danger, we now need to concern ourselves with staying healthy and treating injuries. So to my list I add any first aid supplies I have ready to go and all the prescription medicines my family will need.

5. Big First Aid Kit
6. Prescription Drugs

     We now have to consider the survival triangle: Water, Food and Shelter from the elements. Shelter and water are going to be the most important of the three sides, depending on the environment. Shelter from the elements is first but without water you could be dead in a few hours if you are in a very hot climate. So the next things on the list should address shelter, water and then food. First, personal shelter in the form of blankets and to that we will add bath towels. Towels can be used as shelter, for example as a head wrap, in additional to their more classic uses. Next, the camping gear will shelter us if we cannot return to our house and there isn't any other shelter available.

7.   Blankets
8.   Towels
9.   Camping Tents
10. Camp Heaters
11. Camp Stove
12. Matches
13. Firestarters
14. Water
15. Non-perishable foods: canned goods, dried pasta and beans. And don't forget food for your pets too!

     Food, water and shelter have all now been addressed. Probably within the 30 minutes you had to evacuate too!

     With more time available, you could get some less obvious items onto your "Bug-out List" such as toilet paper to go with a camp toilet or covered bucket which you might need if help is delayed. Radios, batteries, laptop computers and computer backup drives will be coming into focus when the above needs are met and more time is available for evacuating. My list goes as far as our photo albums, stamp collections, artwork and musical instruments if there is enough warning. For instance, I can have the trailer hooked up to one of the cars and loaded if there's a day or more time.

     In conclusion, you can make the list cover just a few items or virtually your entire house depending on how far you wish to take it.  Then just hang it on the wall where anyone can easily find it.  But if something happens, all you have to do is tell whoever is there to keep going down the list until you have to evacuate. You won't be grabbing a potted fern in desperation. You'll be getting everything off of the list in the time that you have and that potted plant won't cause you leave anything more important behind.

TJ Walters

Fire Season is here. Is your family ready?

Good afternoon, here is the News: Fire Season—We all know our traditional Fire Season is fast approaching. That said, some of you may have caught the article in the San Diego Union this morning (Local page 2). Chief Mainar thinks Fire Season is already here. I think he's right. So I have some thoughts about preparing for this year's fire season, and I hope everyone can set aside a little time at an upcoming team meeting to talk about how we can stay ready. Before I go on I think I need to talk a bit about so-called progressive disasters (such as a wildfire) as opposed to sudden catastrophic disasters (such as an earthquake). In general, a progressive disaster "starts small" for lack of a better term, and builds until it impacts a large number of people. The first and most obvious difference in a progressive disaster is that our emergency services and communications remain intact and operational. Under these circumstances CERT does NOT deploy until we are ordered out by the San Diego Fire & Rescue Department. If we are ordered to evacuate our homes with our families, we evacuate. Our duty as CERT is clear in either case, it's Self and Family first. So that means we have two obligations as CERT. The first is the same as every other citizen has, we need to prepare ourselves and our Families for an evacuation. As CERT, we should set a good example for our Friends and Neighbors. Next, we need to prepare ourselves to deploy as CERT if we are called. In our household, we are implementing a plan I learned about in CERT. We bought several mid-size plastic containers with lids. The ones we got came from Container Store and had water-resistant lids, and we made sure they would fit our vehicles. Our next step is to make a list of the things that go in each container. Then we tape a list to each container, and put them away against the day we can just take them out, pack them and leave with them. I'm sure this is going to call for some tough decisions, and we are both very busy right now, but we've made a pact to get it done in the next two weeks. As far as deployment goes, it is recommended that every CERT have a duffle or case sufficient to support three days in the field. Recommended packing lists abound for this, but think in terms of a three-day camping trip that might stretch to five. CERT Members should have food and water sufficient to sustain themselves for at least 12 hours. If space does not permit it, you don't have to have the bag packed and ready, just have it available with a list of the items that go in it. I prefer to have a toiletries kit ready to go with travel sizes of the things I use, the clothes, food and water I'll pack when I need it. I don't think there are any guidelines for this, my goal is to be ready in 15 minutes. If you must evacuate, remember to take your CERT gear with you. One last thing, during our great blackout a lot of San Diegans discovered the wisdom of not letting the car get that close to empty. "How much" is subjective, my thought is always be able to drive at least 100 miles at highway speeds. That can get eaten up quickly in stop and go traffic as many of us discovered, so more is better. I know many of us also carry our three-day pack with us to work during the season. I think that's good practice also. Whatever you do, make a pact with yourself and your family to get it done in the next few weeks. Then let's all hope we don't need it. All for this week. Questions, comments, drop your Team Leader a note. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter 7/10/12

Team Meeting—TONIGHT, 10 July at the Senior Center, 6:00—7:00pm. Jennifer will go over what she learned at the Triage CE. We will talk a bit about ICS and managing in a catastrophe. Then if there is time we'll look at the calendar for the rest of the year and bounce some ideas. See you there! DSW Cards—If you graduated Academy 27, and you have taken two Continuing Education classes (either the five NIMs classes or some other combination) and attended two Team Meetings, you are eligible for your first DSW card. Please contact me before the end of July so I can file your paperwork, It's not automatic. All for this week, hope to see you tonight, if not, no problem, we'll have more. -Steve

FEMA Liability Guide

Dear CERTers, The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program at FEMA is pleased to announce publication of the new CERT Liability Guide, now available for download on the Supplemental Information page of the National CERT website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/downloads/pdf/CERT_Liability_Guide.pdf. CERT programs across the nation support post-disaster response and help ensure that CERT efforts are as safe and effective as possible. CERT advocates have understood that program activities can create risk and adverse consequences; however, perceptions about liability may become a larger barrier to CERT formation, activities and partnerships than is justified by reality. The purpose of this Guide is to offer information and suggested techniques to help local CERT programs overcome this barrier. The audience includes local programs, their sponsoring government agencies and legal advisors, and CERT members themselves. The new CERT Liability Guide presents the benefits of risk management for CERT programs, including building confidence and a positive public image for the program, reducing the cost of insurance and avoiding other costs, helping to preserve a local program’s investment in its members, and increasing overall participation in CERT. The Guide also presents five steps to effective risk management for local CERT programs: 1) Securing leadership support; 2) Collecting information to identify liability exposure; 3) Identifying and analyzing risks; 4) Adopting strategies to manage risk; and, 5) Adopting standard practices for ongoing risk management. Specific activities and considerations are described under each of the five steps. Local CERT programs that consistently follow the process described in the new Guide can benefit themselves, their sponsors, their members, and the community. Please download and review the CERT Liability Guide. And please let CERT practitioners and advocates around the country know your thoughts about the new Guide or any aspect of CERT at the CERT Online Forum. Share your ideas, suggestions and comments at http://community.fema.gov. Thank you! Sincerely, National CERT Program Federal Emergency Management Agency ________________________________________

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News: Team Meeting—Tuesday, 10 July 6:00pm-7:00pm at the Senior Center. Our Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang went to the CE last month on the new triage procedure, so she will be sharing what she learned with us. Jennifer is trained as an EMT, so I think this will be a great session, and I hope you can make it. If we have time, we'll talk about our Calendar for the rest of the year. Hours Due—I thought a few more of us than reported went to the triage CE, so if you forgot to tell me you attended, please let me know today. You will not get credit for this CE if you do not report the hours in the same month in which you took the training. The rescue skills drill we had in Carmel Valley, also on the 10th, is good for a Team Meeting, but you have to turn that in also to get credit. No credit, that's a bad thing. Turn 'em in. All for this week. Battalion News follows. Thank you for your commitment. Have a safe and happy holiday. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News: Team Meeting— Tuesday, 10 July, 6—7pm in the Senior Center. Assistant Team Leader Jennifer Tang is going to hold forth on our new triage system. If you made the CE on June 10, come anyway, we want your input. We will also talk about our calendar for the rest of the year and into 2013. No News Next Week—I'm out of town for a few days. Very limited access to email. If it just won't wait, send me email, I will direct you to someone who can help. Hours Reminder—As I just mentioned. no news next week, so this is your hours reminder. Please hold off until the end of the month so your reports do not pile up in my mailbox. First of July will be fine. Do NOT forget to declare your CE if you went to the triage class. I don't have the signup sheet for that, so I can't ping you if you don't report it. No report, no credit. No kidding. Don't forget. That's it for this week. Not much to go in the Battalion News, so I may not do one. Stay Safe. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News: July Meeting— Tuesday, 10 July, 6—7pm in the Senior Center. Still working on repeating the highlights of the triage CE. Apparently the new system is a bit more complex than I anticipated. If you went to this CE, we hope you can attend and share your experience with us. As we will be past the mid-way point on 2012, I will haul out the calendar and discuss our plans for the rest of the year, and we'll talk about our goals for 2013. No Haunt Drill this year—I have just been informed that the people sponsoring the Mira Mesa Haunted Manor will not do a production this year, due to financial issues. For those of you who are new, for the past two years we have used the Haunt as a venue for a fairly elaborate search and rescue exercise with live victims and many unexpected obstacles. The Haunt was an intricate maze that represented a real challenge all by itself. With just a bit of lead timer, we are going to look for another venue. I'll keep you posted. All for today, questions, comments, you know how to find me. Battalion News later today with any luck at all. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the news: Rescue Drill/Team Meeting—This counts as our Team Meeting for the month. If you have not RSVP'd yet, and want to go, please let me know by tomorrow (Wednesday) 4:00pm. I need to make final arrangements for equipment. Sunday, 10 June, Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 1:30—4:30pm. We'll be working with a variety of rescue techniques, generally divided into three sessions, Stabilization/Extraction/Removal, Transport and Rescue Knots. I'll have more on all this in the Battalion News. I hope to see you there. July Meeting— Tuesday, 10 July, 6—7pm in the Senior Center. I think we will try to get some of the people who made the triage CE to share their experience with the rest of us, so we all have some knowledge of the new system. If this comes up again at a later date as a CE, you can still take it for full credit, and I strongly recommend that you do. DSW Cards—I will turn this month's batch in on Thursday afternoon, so if you think you qualify for your first card or a renewal, and you have not contacted me about it yet, there is still time, but please do it today, the last minute thing wears on everybody. National Preparedness Month—This one is for your long range calendar. The Mira Mesa Street Fair is Saturday, 15 September. Last year we did VERY well recruiting at the Fair, many of our new Members signed up there (glad to have you folks). Obviously I'd like to repeat that experience, so please make a mark on your calendar for 15 September, and plan to join us for a few hours. There will be interactive demos again, I'm not sure what those will look like, but you can bet the dummy will get another workout. Also this year in National Preparedness Month we will once again be participating in the Memorial Stair Climb. That's on the Calendar for 8 September, at the Hilton Bay Front. It's a busy month for us, as there will be other things available for us during the month. Clearly I'll have more on these important events as we get closer to Fall, please keep the two dates in mind. All for this week, questions, comments, you know how to find me. -Steve

Conducting CERT drills and exercises just got easier

Dear CERTers, The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program at FEMA is pleased to announce a new library of 20 ready-to-use CERT exercises of all types, now available for download on the new Drills and Exercises page of the National CERT website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/exercises.shtm. The new materials will help CERT programs conduct a variety of drills and exercises based on different scenarios. Drills and exercises are great opportunities for CERT programs to engage their volunteer members and to practice, assess, and improve their program’s emergency response plans and on-the-ground operations. The scenarios, objectives, and events of each exercise can be used as is or modified to address the local CERT program’s training priorities. The new web page includes materials for 4 drills, 6 tabletop exercises, 4 functional exercises, 4 full-scale exercises and 2 competitive events that were developed according to national guidance and principles outlined by the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP). All drills and exercises were developed with common terminology and a systematic approach consistent with the National Incident Management System (NIMS) framework to ensure that CERT programs are well-integrated with emergency management and incident response operations. Planning exercises and drills does not have to be a daunting and time-consuming task for CERT programs. Review the drills and exercises on the National CERT website and start planning for your next CERT exercise today! Please let CERT practitioners and advocates around the country know your thoughts about the new library of exercises or any aspect of CERT at the CERT Online Forum. Share your ideas, suggestions and comments at http://community.fema.gov. Thank you! Sincerely, National CERT Program Federal Emergency Management Agency

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Greetings, here is the news: Team Meeting— Sunday, 10 June at Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 1-4pm. The website originally had a morning start, we decided to move it to afternoon, so please update calendars accordingly. I will now take RSVP for this. It looks like there is a fair amount of interest from Battalion 7, and we might have to limit our numbers depending on the number of instructors I can line up. So, email me if you want to go, sooner is better. I should have a pretty comprehensive outline for this drill by next week. My plan is still in for approval, so it's a bit early to say much. As much as we can, we're going to emphasize repetitive practice of fundamental rescue skills, including the ever popular knot-tying. Team Hours— I'll start accepting team hours for May now, but the deadline is a week from this Thursday. As always, if you new people have any questions about this, drop me a note. All for this week, I'll probably hold off on the Battalion news until about Noon in case I get the drill plan approved so I can publish some details. Stay Safe. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good afternoon, here is the News: Team Meeting— Sunday, 10 June at Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 1-4pm. The website originally had a morning start, we decided to move it to afternoon, so please update calendars accordingly. More on this in the Battalion whenever I get to it. Yes, there will be RSVP for this, but not now please, I'll ask for it towards the end of the month. May FRS Radio Drill—Well, that was a bit disappointing. For me anyway, I think our resident expert (Mike) was not at all surprised. We got lousy and intermittent reception pretty much everywhere, whereas the last two years we did pretty well. I guess that puts FRS in its place, good for coordinating a search in a smaller area, not much more. Still, I like this drill because everybody gets a chance to key up the radio and use it. The practice will come in handy someday. That's all for this week, questions, comments, you know where to find me. -Steve

Mira Mesa CERT Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News: Radio Drill tomorrow night—There is still time to get in on this, but I need to hear from you by 18:00 TONIGHT. I will start sending out call signs this afternoon. If you think you are signed up for this drill, and you don't hear from me by 19:00 tonight, then I don't have you on the list, shoot me a reply and we'll get you set up. Those of you who are participating, charge the thing, of get fresh batteries, whatever you do. Do it now. I'll wait. If you are not really familiar with your radio, now is also a good time to pull out the manual and get it tuned to Channel 7. If you bought two radios, find a friend (or a bitter enemy would work as well I guess) to do a radio check with you. Here is the rest of the detail, largely repeated for last week: You will need an FRS/GMRS radio for this drill, and something to write on/with. We will use Channel 7(FRS). Promptly at 5:30, I will make the following announcement from the rally point (near the Recreation Center on New Salem, just east of Camino Ruiz): Attention. Attention. Attention. This is Mira Mesa net control, calling the Mira Mesa Community Emergency Response Team. This is a drill. This is a directed net. Please make no transmissions unless called upon by the net control station. Emergency traffic may break into this net at anytime and will be acknowledged by net control. I will ask for check-ins of CERT members by area. When you check in give your call sign, the street you are on and nearest cross street. Make a note of any check ins you hear from your location and bring your list to the team rally point. I will then ask for responses by quadrant as follows: Quadrant 1: North of Mira Mesa Blvd, East of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 2: North of Mira Mesa Blvd, West of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 3: South of Mira Mesa Blvd, East of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 4: South of Mira Mesa Blvd, West of Camino Ruiz I will acknowledge your transmission by call sign. Please make a note of all other call signs you hear from your location (but do not contact them). After you have made contact, proceed to the rally point. Keep your radio on, and report any "new" transmissions you heard on your way in until you get to the rally point. You can record them of course, but only if it is safe to do so (pull over or stop at a light). Do NOT, under any circumstances, operate your radio while driving. It may or may not be technically illegal, I don't really care. If you don't hear my announcement, but you hear someone else's response, you can request a relay from them. The transmission sequence is: "[call sign] to [call sign relay] request relay to net control" "[call sign relay] to [call sign] acknowledged" "[call sign relay] to [net control] I have contact with [call sign]" "[net control] acknowledged" If you can't hear my announcement, request only one relay, don't request a relay from everyone you can hear (but do record them). Do not communicate with another station unless you need to make a relay. If, after 5 minutes, you have not heard from anyone, drive half the distance to the rally point (or as far as makes sense to you), pull over and try again. You may need to get out of your car, FRS inside a vehicle can be iffy. When we all get to the rally point, we will plot locations on a map of Mira Mesa and see how we did. Usually coverage is pretty good, with a few holes we know about. June Meeting/exercise—In June the 10th falls on a Sunday. We are planning a joint Battalion 5 rescue exercise. This will count as a Team Meeting. We will probably be at the Carmel Valley Recreation Center. It's a bit closer to our Battalion's geographic center. This will be straight-up rescue techniques, carries and drags, log roll into the litter, loading a backboard etc. We'll also practice knot tying. If you have back/leg problems, plan to come anyway, and declare your issue at the start of the drill, we will work within what you think you can do. Knot-tying will start from the very basic, so if you don't have much practice there, this is a good one for you. No time set yet, I need to work this out with Team Carmel Valley, and I'm a bit behind on some things. I'm shooting for the afternoon after lunch, plan on two hours. All for this week. Questions, comments, reply to this email, I'm right here. -Steve

Mira Mesa Newsletter

Good morning, here is the News: Volunteer Hours for April—Please send me any volunteer hours you logged in April by Noon tomorrow. Hours can include Team Meetings, Continuing Education classes, or any hours you spent on CERT activities (the bone marrow drive last Saturday counts as volunteer hours). Please let me know if you have any questions about reporting your hours. Scripps Ranch Fair—Scripps Ranch is having a Community Fair this Sunday, 6 May, 12:00-5:30pm: http://www.scrippsranch.org/events/community-fair.html The Scripps Ranch Team will have a booth at the event where they will do some interactive demonstrations, starting at 1:00pm. This sort of thing really needs a few CERT people to really work, as the booth has to be staffed while the demos are running. If you would like to see the Fair and can put in about 2 hours at the booth, please let me know by reply email, the Scripps guys would love to have you. Radio Drill 9 May— RSVP to me for this radio drill. I will take your RSVP up until 6:00 Tuesday night. You will get an email from me with your call sign. If you don't want to participate in the actual drill, but would like to observe, just show up at the rally point at 5:30pm. Here is the rest of the detail, borrowed largely from last year's drill: You will need an FRS radio for this drill, and something to write on/with. We will use Channel 7. Before the drill, please be sure your radio has a full charge and is tuned to Channel 7. If you bought two radios, and have not used FRS before, you might want to practice with someone else. There is a brief delay between keying the radio for transmission and actual transmission, so if you start talking immediately, you will get cutoff. This takes some getting used to. Promptly at 5:30, I will make the following announcement from the rally point (near the Recreation Center on New Salem, just east of Camino Ruiz): Attention. Attention. Attention. This is Mira Mesa net control, calling the Mira Mesa Community Emergency Response Team. This is a drill. This is a directed net. Please make no transmissions unless called upon by the net control station. Emergency traffic may break into this net at anytime and will be acknowledged by net control. I will ask for check-ins of CERT members by area. When you check in give your call sign, the street you are on and nearest cross street. Make a note of any check ins you hear from your location and bring your list to the team rally point. I will then ask for responses by quadrant as follows: Quadrant 1: North of Mira Mesa Blvd, East of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 2: North of Mira Mesa Blvd, West of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 3: South of Mira Mesa Blvd, East of Camino Ruiz Quadrant 4: South of Mira Mesa Blvd, West of Camino Ruiz I will acknowledge your transmission by call sign. Please make a note of all other call signs you hear from your location (but do not contact them). After you have made contact, proceed to the rally point. Keep your radio on, and report any "new" transmissions you heard on your way in until you get to the rally point. You can record them of course, but only if it is safe to do so (pull over or stop at a light). Do NOT, under any circumstances, operate your radio while driving. It may or may not be technically illegal, I don't really care. If you don't hear my announcement, but you hear someone else's response, you can request a relay from them. The transmission sequence is: "[call sign] to [call sign relay] request relay to net control" "[call sign relay] to [call sign] acknowledged" "[call sign relay] to [net control] I have contact with [call sign]" "[net control] acknowledged" If you can't hear my announcement, request only one relay, don't request a relay from everyone you can hear (but do record them). Do not communicate with another station unless you need to make a relay. If, after 5 minutes, you have not heard from anyone, drive half the distance to the rally point (or as far as makes sense to you), pull over and try again. You may need to get out of your car, FRS inside a vehicle can be iffy. When we all get to the rally point, we will plot locations on a map of Mira Mesa and see how we did. Usually coverage is pretty good, with a few holes we know about.

CERT iPhone/iPad App Updated

CERT iPhone/iPad App Updated:
Most of you have heard me discuss how cool it is to have CERT materials in my iPhone, ready to refer to at any time.  The author of the CERT Guide has produced an update that takes advantage of the bigger screen of the iPad., fixed outdated links and some assorted bug fixes.  Be sure to download your update.
“This application is an essential resource for CERT members that may be used as a reference to refresh the training that they have completed. This application is also a critical field operations guide to support CERT members during actual disaster activations.”

“This reference contains quick guides for all topics covered with the Community Emergency Response Team curriculum, checklists, emergency procedures, the complete CERT course student manuals and vlsuals (slides), and access to emergency radio streams throughout the United States and internationally. With internet access on the IPhone or IPod Touch you can access Police, Fire, and EMT emergency radio traffic which can be used as an important utility following a major disaster.”