The citizens of the cities of Brecksville & Broadview Heights Ohio have created a joint CERT team!
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NEWS
The National Citizen Corps Achievement Awards–Celebrating Resilient Communities for 2009
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July General Meeting Radio Communications Review
The following items were discussed concerning radio communication:
· Several organizations (ARES and NTS) were responsible for starting the citizen component of radio communication in the form of short wave radio in 1935 and 1949.
· Amateur radio is a great hobby. Knowing Morris Code is no longer necessary. If you are interested in getting an amateur radio license go to the web site: www.2cars.org
· The system that we use in CERT is considered a “family radio system” and only works for short distances.
· Radios have limited range and do not always work inside buildings
· The purpose of radio communication is to exchange information such as coordinating activities between Incident Command and the field.
· Net Control is the central communication hub during an event.
· Always perform a radio check before leaving the staging area.
· Communicate back to Net Control if you are having distance limitations or battery problems.
· Listening is the most important skill when using the radios.
· Efficient and timely communication is important.
· Use professional language, no horseplay.
· Remember, information transmitted over the radio is not private; anyone can hear your conversation.
· Before talking into the radio listen for open air then ask “Net Control, permission to pass traffic”.
· When communicating on the radio be brief and to the point, think before speaking and speak clearly.
· If you have an emergency to report and the airways are not clear, use the word “Break” to ask for permission to break into a conversation.
· Keep the radio batteries warm to help prolong their life.
· Acknowledge the receipt of all messages and listen before you speak.
· Do not use “over and out”, swear or shout into the radio.
· Do not mishandle the radios; always keep track of your radio so that it does not get lost.
The Broadview Heights radios are kept at the Wallings Road fire station (station #1). The Brecksville radios are in the CERT locker. Both sets of radios are always charging.
Instructions for how to use the Motorola Talk-About radio were reviewed. Teams of five were formed and a radio drill was practiced.
April 2009 General Meeting Highlights
First Aid—Brian Wolf
General First Aid was discussed along with triage principals, which was followed by a hands on practice.
1. The “3 Killers”
a. Airway obstruction—to open an airway do the following:
Ø Approach the victim, shake them and ask: “Can you hear me?”
Ø If no response, tilt the head back slightly and lift the chin upward
Ø Place your ear over the victims mouth, look for chest rise, listen for breathing, feel for abdominal movement
b. Bleeding—The 3 main methods to control bleeding are:
Ø Direct pressure over the wound with clean dressings, wrap firmly, apply more dressings on top as needed
Ø Elevate the wound over the level of the heart
Ø Put pressure on the nearest pressure point to slow the flow of blood
c. Shock
The signs of shock are:
Ø Rapid, shallow breathing
Ø Capillary refill of greater than 2 seconds, which is tested on the nail beds by pressing and looking for how fast pink color returns to the nail
Ø Failure to follow simple commands
Ø Changes in skin color
The steps to take when shock is suspected:
Ø Lay the victim on their back, elevate the feet 6-10 inches above the level of the heart
Ø Maintain an open airway
Ø Control obvious bleeding
Ø Maintain body temperature by covering with a blanket
Ø Avoid rough or excessive handling, do not move the victim unless in a dangerous area
2. Triage
When responding to an emergency, the goal of CERT members is to do the greatest good for the greatest number of people. The word triage means “to sort”. The steps to conduct a triage of victims is as follows:
a. Do a voice triage by saying, “If you can walk, come here”
b. Start where you stand
c. Evaluate each victim as follows
Ø Check for breathing
Ø Check for bleeding
Ø Check mental status
d. Tag each victim as follows:
Ø Walking wounded-Green
Ø Delayed Care-Yellow
Ø Immediate Care-Red
Ø Morgue-Black
3. Treatment
The first step when working with victims is to conduct triage and rapid treatment. Victims tagged, as Immediate Care (RED) should be treated pronto. Treatment starts with a thorough head-to-toe assessment of the victim, which is done to determine the nature of the injuries. When treating fractures and dislocations the joint should be immobilized above and below the injury site.
For more triage and first aid details review your CERT Training Participants Manual.
March 2009 General Meeting Highlights
Incident Command and PPE—Marc Rubin
CERT teams are only activated under the direction of the Fire Department. It is very important to follow this directive and never “self activate”. Once activated the CERT Incident Commander (IC) works under the direction of the Fire Departments IC. The overall objective of the Incident Command System is to develop an action plan for dealing with the emergency, which is the responsibility of the Planning Division. The action plan must be approved by the Fire Department. The Logistics Division is responsible for gathering what is needed to implement the action plan. Finance is responsible for putting together the resources needed and the Operations Division then implements the plan by putting people in the field. As the plan is in operation information is filtered back to the Fire Department by way of liaisons.
PPE are those items that you use to protect yourself from chemical and biological hazards. PPE is designed to protect you from absorbing, breathing, ingesting, splashing or injecting hazardous material into your body.
Hazardous situations to look for:
Ø Ruptured gas lines, do not turn on light switches as this is an explosion hazard
Ø Electrical hazards, be aware of potential situations that may result in shocks from appliances or fire due to faulty wiring
Ø Chemical hazards, be aware of open cans of chemicals
Ø Mold hazard, large quantities of mold can harbor spores and toxins
Ø Rusty metal can cause infections and tetanus shots should be up-to-date.
September General Meeting Highlights
September 2008
Thank you to
Chief Kancler, Police Chief in the City of Brecksville for his presentation
on "The Current Threat of Terrorism" on September 25th. The following points
where his take home message concerning what he believes is the best response
at a community level:
v Problem solving by group brainstorming produces the best results.
v
Lessons
learned from natural events can be used for responding to terrorism attacks.
A preparedness mind-set helps eliminate panic, keeps confidence high and
stress down. Citizens should read community provided materials to become
more prepared for disasters.
v Communities are not as prepared as they should be due to lack of funding, therefore citizens need to prepare themselves for both natural and man-made disasters.
v The best defense communities have is citizens that stay alert to unusual situations and report unusual events to authorities.
Thank you to Sue Schindler our Secretary for passing on these notes from the meeting minutes.
CERT NEWS - June/July 2007
Brecksville Home Days and Broadview Hts. Summerfest
Thank you to all who came out and helped us man the booths. Next year we will have to come up with some type of give-away or contest to get people to our booth. We had interest and some new members sign up, but would have loved more traffic. Thank you again to those who helped out and put their time in educating the residents of both cities about CERT.
MOCK Dispensing Drill May 2007
There was a MOCK dispensing drill at the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School on Saturday May 12, 2007. More than 100 volunteers participated in the first "Drive Thru" dispensing drill in Cuyahoga County.
This very complex and well orchestrated drill simulated a possible procedure for dispensing antibiotics to the masses.
It is one of many potential methods that trained volunteers will use to help protect the citizens of their community.
If you would like more information on how you can help your community please feel free to contact us, or join the Brecksville Broadview Heights CERT Team.
Search and Rescue Drill - April 21, 2007
The Brecksville Broadview Heights CERT Team in Cooperation with the Brecksville Police Department, Brecksville Fire Department, Broadview Heights Fire Department and Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department conducted a mock Search and Rescue drill in the Brecksville reservation of the Cleveland Metroparks.
Approximately 80 individuals from the above groups participated. The drill was directed and conducted by The Cleveland MetroParks Ranger Department.
This event consisted of an evening classroom session and a highly interactive outdoor search drill. The outdoor exercise began at approximately 9:00 am on Saturday April 21st. with a police dog demonstration, and lasted until about noon when the Brecksville Fire Department conducted a rescue drill by repelling into the gorge at route 82 and the park entrance.
The groups cooperated in multiple search exercises in the fields and woods of the Brecksville Reservation to learn the difficult skills of a proper search effort.
A great deal of knowledge and skill was transferred to the participants, and the weather was fantastic!
The CERT team expresses a great deal of thanks to all who participated and especially the extremely professional individuals from the Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department.
Please stay tuned for future events and if you wish to participate please feel free to lend your skills by joining us on the Brecksville Broadview Heights CERT team.