Neat Glow Sticks with whistle

A great addition to any emergency kit, the Life Gear glow stick with whistle fits easily in a glove compartment or backpack.

LED glow stick runs up to 200 hrs on 3 AG-13 batteries (included)

Glow stick features an emergency flasher mode

Located on the back end of the stick is a standard white LED for use as a flashlight

Remove the cap on the tip of the glow stick to reveal a whistle that will certainly get everyone's attention

$5.95 at REI

Current Rules for CERT/DSW cards

Just as a quick reminder, the requirements for the CERT/DSW card state that you have to attend two team meetings and two continuing education events every year. Our drills and meetings are meant to fulfill those requirements.

The final requirement for the card is that once every two years, you must attend a refresher training put on by San Diego CERT.

San Diego CERT has stated that failing to meet these requirements means that you will not be reissued a CERT/DSW card. If your card expires, San Diego CERT has stated that you will have to take the CERT academy again before a new card can be issued.

CERT National Newsletter Digest

In this issue of the CERT newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 2, you will read about the Hamden, CONN CERT training on public safety officer rehabilitation and on-scene victim care. Another story "CERT Programs: Rural and Urban" describes the similarities CERT members receive in both locations and also the challenges both communities are faced with. The article on Teen CERT is a compilation of five individuals from across the country who conduct Teen CERT in their local communities.

Here's the link: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/newsletter.shtm

Mother's Day meeting + Quarterly meetings

The Tenth of the Month falls on Mother's Day this month so we will only have a short meeting - Happy Mother's Day! Remember our CERT principles: Family First!

However if you can make it, there will be a one-hour max meeting at 3pm at the Carl's Jr on Camino Ruiz just north of Mira Mesa Blvd.

Here is also a thought that I had based on the fact that we have to identify our monthly get-togethers as either drills or meetings but not both. What do you think about two drills and one meeting in a three-month cycle?

CERT National Newsletter

Dear CERT Community,

The CERT National Program Office is pleased to announce the release of the April 2009 quarterly "CERT National Newsletter." This edition features stories on local CERT programs across the country and news and information from the CERT National Program Office. Click on the following link to read and download the newsletter:
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/newsletter.shtm.

We hope you enjoy this newsletter. If you know of others who would be interested in receiving CERT National newsletters or CERT updates, please have them subscribe at the following website: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/subscribe.shtm.

Thank you.
Sincerely,

CERT National Program Office Community Preparedness Division
Federal Emergency Management Agency

2009 CERT Events Calendar

Hi MM CERT members!

The 2009 Calendar of Events has been emailed to you. Please note that there is only one more Refresher drill this year on July 25th. So if your certification will expire before 2010, then make sure that you get to that one.

February Mira Mesa CERT Drill

Just a quick wrap-up of our 10th of the month drill which focused on Mass Casualty Incident / Medical Triage. As always, we met at the team rally point at the Mira Mesa Rec Center near SDFD's Station 38.

THE DRILL SCENARIO: Scripps, Poway and Penasquitos CERT's have been activated due to a military plane crash and resulting brush fire. They are being tasked with search, rescue and evacuation duties. Mira Mesa CERT has been tasked as SDFD's CERT Division 4 and will handle Medical Triage duties. The American Red Cross will take over those duties in approximately 4 hours when they have established their shelter in Mira Mesa High School. Transport of the victims to our location will be handled by the other CERT Divisions. We could expect helo pickup of our most critical victims in about an hour and will need to provide transport to MMHS of the remainder once ARC is ready to receive them. Note: THIS WAS A DRILL NOT AN INCIDENT!

We worked through what was needed for a full Triage area with check-in, treatment areas based upon our location and available facilities including knocking on doors and asking for blankets, etc. We also determined how curbside intake and confirmation of Triage status, transport to appropriate Triage area would be handled. Triage teams to perform detailed, once-over exams and periodic re-evaluations of victims were discussed. Out-bound transport including what would be needed for a Helo Landing Zone were also worked out. We also learned that even sunny San Diego can get cold... LOL. Having the right gear available is essential over the almost 2 hours we were there.

Join us next 10th of the month whether you are part of the Mira Mesa team or some other CERT - everyone is welcome but bring your Go-Bag because we "Practice like we mean it!"

Citizen Corp News site

This information was emailed to me by Christine Marcucci of San Diego CERT.

Please pass the link on to team members to keep us volunteers informed on details such as the President's views on volunteerism, upcoming events, and conferences. There is so much good information on this website!

http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/enews/

Ready or Not?

The following info is courtesy of Miriam Ortiz Berger, North Inland CERT.

Ready or Not? – A unique course designed to teach citizens and communities to “take care of themselves.”

By acquiring basic skills and making preparations, citizens can become an asset rather than a liability. Our emergency services personnel are often understaffed and under-budgeted and as our population continues to grow there is an imminent need for individuals and communities to become more self-reliant.

Tom Beasley and Susan Conniry, authors of “Ready or Not – A Disaster Survival Handbook” undertake the unique approach to disaster preparedness by adapting wilderness skills into an urban environment; they show citizens techniques that utilize resources in their immediate environment. By “creating awareness without precipitating panic,” they teach communities how to take “care of themselves.” They explain the priorities of shelter, water, fire and food, give simple survival techniques and provide enough tools to deal effectively with any emergency situation.

This class is interactive; please bring a large Russet potato with you!

This course is hosted by the Lakeside Disaster Preparedness Committee and is tuition free.

Date: April 4th, 2009
Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Location: Moreno Room, Lakeside Community Center.

Please RSVP: Susan, 619-443-2399 or email: susan@careforthefuture.org

Perhaps you would be so kind as to let people know about the event?
http://www.readyornotsurvival.com/

This is a great class! You won't regret attending! This event qualifies as a Continuing Education class for San Diego CERT members.

Combined Search & Triage Drill

Since the next Tenth Of the Month (TOM) meeting falls on a Saturday, we are extending an invitation to the other CERT's in Battalions 5 and 7 to join us for a combined exercise at the Mira Mesa Rec Center, 8575 New Salem St, San Diego, CA. maps.google.com link Our Rally Point is at the gazebo which is mid-way between the Rec Center building and San Diego Fire Station 38. If you are on New Salem Street and facing the Rec Center, the gazebo is to your right.

We will once again focus on Search and S.T.A.R.T. (Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment) procedures. For this drill, we will be searching the Mira Mesa Rec Center park for "victims" and deciding on the proper S.T.A.R.T. procedure for each case. This drill allows us to practice the first part of an actual activation: initial check-in, team assignments, Search, Triage, and Radio procedures.

The plan is to meet at the Mira Mesa Rally Point 9:30am with your CERT hat, vest, and Go-Bag (and good shoes - no open-toes or sandals). Just look for the green CERT vests and hats. During this pre-briefing time, we will briefly review the various procedures that we will be performing during the exercise.

At approximately 10am, we will begin the simulated activation. You will report in to Logistics where you will be assigned to a team and issued a FRS radio per team. Next, Command and Operations will give a briefing on the incident detail, the search area, safety, radio call-signs and procedures. Then each team will be sent to an area of the park complex to perform a search for our simulated victims (they are small signs with victim and injury details). Once found, each "victim" is run through the S.T.A.R.T. procedure and the position of any "victims" requiring transport is given to Operations via radio.

We performed this same exercise at the last TOM and it went very well. We sent a team out into one section of the park which was dark (it was an weekday evening drill) and they successfully found all of our "victims". It was very educational for everyone and definitely a lot more fun than just having a table-top discussion about it!

Notes:

1. Because this is a combined exercise, we will not be sending out notification text messages to your cellular phones two hours before the drill as we normally do - emails only for this exercise.

2. We will again be using FRS radios for short-range communications, although we have enough for each team, please feel free to bring your own radios to use during the exercise. Please be sure to bring the necessary instructions in order to set the assigned channel and privacy code on your radio. Also, please arrive before 9:30am so that your radios can be set up and tested prior to beginning the exercise.

3. Please review the S.T.A.R.T. procedures. I found an excellent series of videos which are listed in the November 25th post below. Here's the link just in case you cannot see the post. http://miramesacert.blogspot.com/2008/11/simple-triage-and-rapid-treatment.html
When you watch the firefighter performing START, you really begin to grasp just how fast it is!

Monthly Battalion Training for 2009

CERT San Diego has announced that we will have battalion training on a monthly basis. This training will be at 9am on Saturdays and held at the NTC Training Facility near the airport. This training will be conducted by uniformed firefighters and should cover more extensive subjects than the basic training that we have already received.

The schedule for each battalion has not been set at this time for Battalion 5 (the Mira Mesa, Carmel Valley, and North Coastal teams). We are anticipating that this schedule will be finalized this month. I will update the blog with more infomation as it becomes available and will follow with individual emails when Battalion 5 is scheduled.

FRS radios (updated 8/25/09)

Thanks to Belmont - San Carlos CERT for the information regarding these radio kits. I have also added a link to the Belmont CERT blog in the links list.

FRS radios for just $10.99 from REACT International (sorry the referring page is no longer active). You do not need any kind of license or permit to use these radios! Although they are only short-range at best, they can be invaluable in bringing help to you quickly when phones aren't working.

Every CERT member should have this type of radio with them with them during drills and actual activations. At the very least, you save time (and your feet) by not having to have someone "run" messages back and forth between your CERT team members. Mira Mesa CERT team's communication plan calls for us to check in on FRS channel 7 (with no privacy code) during an activation. That way we can be directed to where team members are needed even before reaching the rally point. We also assign additional channels for Search, Rescue, Medical, and other teams to use as needed during the activation. Our radio team will also have access to other agencies via our ham radios.

For your family and friends, here is a way to get help when the phones and cellular towers aren't working. An entire communications plan for families is outlined on the EMCOM Family/Neighborhood Emergency Communications webpage. As part of that plan, the Mira Mesa CERT radio team will be monitoring the FRS General Emergency channel 1 as they move around the neighborhood and can become your family's link to help.

Here is the offer in a nutshell. For just $10.99, you get an Emergency communications kit with an FRS radio, radio instructions, and a 1-2-3 Emergency Communications Guide and FREE shipping!

Triage Olympics?? Your thoughts...

Hi Mira Mesa CERT members!

I found another blog which has First Aid Olympics. This is where teams compete to properly treat a victim and it struck me that we could apply it to our triage system.

We could invite other teams to compete with our teams to find victims, perform Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment, transport, and check-in and treatment in the Medical Triage Area.

What do you think?

Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment Training

Here is a great website with detailed instructions in using the START system. http://www.citmt.org/start/default.htm

If you just want to see videos of the various phases of START, click the following links in order. http://www.citmt.org/start/video/resp.wmv
http://www.citmt.org/start/video/perfus.wmv
http://www.citmt.org/start/video/mental.wmv

PRODUCT LINKS

Triage Tape - faster and cheaper that Tags! (just $8.50 for 4 rolls!)
Two-part CERT Backpacks
CERT Los Angeles Store
The Fire Store
Prepare4disaster
Emergency Medical Supplies and Equipment
SafetyCentral
Conterra
CERT Supplies
Safety Services Inc.
Discount Safety Gear Store
Wilderness Medical Gear
Battledress Uniforms/Hurricane Supplies
OutInStyle
North Safety Products (CERT Helmets)
iPrepare
911Providers Gear Shop
MedWorldwide EMS Products