How have you used your CERT volunteers?
On 06/20/12, a survey conducted by the LAFD asked 1838 CERT programs across the nation a series of questions pertaining to their volunteers.
1. Do you Train and Maintain your volunteers? Yes: 79.41% (216/270)
2. Do you Train and Release your volunteers? Yes: 17.64% (48/270)
3. Do you charge a fee for training? Yes: 8.82% (24/272)
4. Is your training free? Yes: 89.34% (243/272)
5. Do you require Incident Command 200,700, and 800? 75% stated they require some. (204/272)
08/16/12: Responses to the question “How have you used your CERT volunteers?” are below.
At county events and in support of municipalities within and outside of county
Traffic control at multiple marathons and other races and parades
Victims at city and military exercises
Lost kids booth at city events – (put wristbands on the kids wrists with their parent’s cell phone number on it)
Parking control at city special events
Recruitment booth at many events
Fireworks security at July 4th city event
Damage assessment after storms
Setting up Medically Friendly Shelter in city
Animal shelters
Project Lifesaver Battery Changers
Project Lifesaver Search and Rescue Teams
EMS Search and Rescue Team
Ham Radio Operators at many events and in the EOC
Public Safety Command Center
Community Outreach
In various city events such as parades & fairs. We have helped with traffic control at several county & city trainings & even funerals. We are working on a smoke detector installation program but it has yet to get off the ground.
Health Dept. Flu Clinics, Parade Control, S&R for a missing elderly person, distribution of preparedness materials, helping set up an ARC shelter following a tornado, setting up the EOC.
Volunteers are used for various community events. They maintain a basic first aid station.
Staffing Volunteer Processing Center
First Aid at community events
Debris Removal after tornados and floods
Missing Persons Searches (wildland)
Traffic control; sandbagging; perimeter control for a fire; SAR
Special events and storm trackers
Evacuee shelter operations, fire rehab, State Operations Center volunteers, WebEOC, disaster assessments, airport exercise, SAR exercises and activations, CERT outreach, preparedness outreach, EOC activations, etc.
Medical standbys at school events and town events, crowd control, disaster relief, school emergency operations like evacuation and fire drills
SAR post tornado
Debris removal
medical aid to ambulances
missing person searches
responder rehab
donation management
recruitment
community education
shelter management
EOC operational support staff
FSE role players
We currently use our CERT volunteers for public outreach, assist in training of new CERT volunteers.
We are a relatively new program and have not, as of yet, had a deployment.
Event Security, Crowd Control, Traffic Control, Oil Spill Spotters, Phone Banks, Medical Surge Support Staff
Monterey CERT have been activated for tsunami alert & coastal patrols
Currently as support for first responders
Event support (courtesy patrol, first aid, set up/down, traffic control, concession sales, public info booth)
SAR Missing Persons
Windshield Damage Assessment
Large Area Evidence Search
Triage
Community project staffing/volunteers
Community Education programs
Working alongside Fire personnel in disaster scenarios.
Ride alongs with Truck Companies, etc.
Traffic & crowd control
Missing child search
Abducted child search
Sand bagging
Flood watch
Local hazard survey, i.e. soft first story survey
Volunteer victims for professional first responders (hospital evacuation, airliner crash at San Jose international.)
Hurricane Evacuations
Sheltering
EOC Ops Event Support
Special Needs Communications
Flood sandbagging, missing person search, tornado recovery/debris removal, winter storm notifications/warming shelters.
Planned events such as parades. Will use for light search and rescue
Sheltering, EOC Ops, FEMA Individual Assistance advance team, support of MRC, community events such as line of duty funerals, community celebrations, etc. Community out-reach programs, Access and Functional Needs registration program.
Yes, several shelter operations and VOPEX with the North Anna Power Station. Last fall we had a lost boy in a neighboring county. CERT from Louisa joined many other CERTs to search for him.
Windshield survey damage assessment, damage report phone bank, traffic control, first aid, and crowd assistance at special events.
Having a booth at the Concerts in the Park (but there wasn’t any this year due to economy), Delhi Skirt game and for the fire house’s Open House.
We require ICS 100, 200, and 700. We use the CERT folks for emergency call-outs to support police and fire in non-emergent roles at major emergencies. also they are utilized during city functions where there is a gathering of crowds.
Search
Staff Mobile Command
Disaster Education
Special Events
Yes. CERT is used during county fair to man first aid booth along with firefighters. Also deployed to shelters during hurricanes.
Missing Person Call outs, Preparedness expos, Safety Patrols at large scale events. EOC support during activations.They have also responded during severe weather incidents
We have used them for all of our special events during the year, 4th of July, concerts in the park, parades, etc.
We use our CERT members for special events, fire rehab, FireWise communities, after a tornado, fire prevention week, etc.
For county and cities events. Also storm events
No official business so far where members were needed.
First Aid station at community festivals, traffic control at community events. Team was activated for 2 weather-related emergencies in 2011 and provided sheltering, neighborhood assessment and safety patrol. Currently working with high school to develop a sheltering plan.
Marathons/road races, large funerals for parking lot/safety duty, H1N1, cooling centers, shelters, wild fires, public education, local fair parking duty, support for tornado relief
Our CERT volunteers have been utilized to:
open and staff emergency shelters,
distribute preparedness information at health fairs, festivals, etc.
canvass neighborhoods for missing persons,
assist at call centers during disasters,
distribute clean-up kits (POD),
assist our local health division during mass immunizations as interpreters
Cooling Centers
Exercises/Drills
Marathon Trainings
Traffic control during parades and annual fireworks.
Assist with fire ground rehab.
Change firefighters SCBA bottles
Staffing our EOC Search for missing people
Staffing shelters & cooling centers
Damage assessments following a tornado
They have helped with disaster drills, serving as victims, installing smoke alarms, staffing safety displays and helping with road races.
They have been used to assist with feeding response personnel at large incidents, they are involved in our training exercises, they provide public education to different community groups throughout the region.
Yes, for scheduled events and some call-outs
We house over 60% of hurricane evacuees from South LA and some from South TX. Our CERT graduates are a key pool of motivated citizens that become members of local response agency sheriff, police, volunteer fire dept (Fire Corps) and most importantly our nonprofits.
Legal and liability issues plus the dramatic cut in funding never really permitted CERT members to be considered responders via our two parish ( county) homeland security office. By having graduates referred to aux or reserve of sheriff office, they are covered for liability. Issued uniforms, provided radios , mark units, and a hub to work from usually a sheriff office substation.
We use CERT for our college fire drills, severe weather drills, large scale events such as presidential visits etc to assist our police dept.
We have a Campus CERT program, volunteers are primarily used to assist with various responsibilities during crisis management exercises.
The CERTs are very organized & self-sufficient; they manage their teams through team leaders & a CERT/Volunteer run council. EM utilizes CERTs in non-disaster roles at County-sponsored functions to promote & recruit.
Staffing phone lines at EOC during hurricanes, operating PODs, neighborhood information booths at planned events, working with building inspectors post-storm.
Eyes & Ears patrolling at community events, active callouts when requested by first responders for searches, etc.
Yes, many times for local incidents
Searching for missing persons
Various community events
Training on ICS 100,200,700,800 and advanced for TTX and Functional and EOC operations
Public outreach and education at events; Manned fire stations during and after Hurricane Irene in case citizens needed assistance or somewhere to recharge medical equipment; Damage assessment after a storm.
Flooding events to pass out flyers.
Boil orders to pass out flyers.
Tornado to help feed volunteers, pass out supplies and volunteer accountability.
Assist with damage assessment during flooding, ice storm and other severe weather events.
Amber and Silver Alert searches.
Parades and other planned events.
Running Community events, disasters (wind storms and damage assessment), running fallen police officer funeral (traffic control)
Walk for Life
Events
Disaster
Drills
Yes for severe weather and H1N1 Vaccinations.
Yes. Two hurricanes and monthly civil functions throughout the County.
The majority of our deployments have been running the town shelter – 8 last year as portions of our town flood frequently. We have also been involved in emergency school evacuations, setting up and staffing water stations after water main breaks, door-to-door notifications, staffing road closures, and community education at town events.
Yes for safety festivals, damage reporting, and during an H1N1 vaccination clinic
After tornados and floods, in both damage assessment and search and rescue
At community events distributing brochures, at special events like the Indy 500 to help take care of first responders – provide water etc, and at State and County Fairs helping replenish first aid booths with supplies.
Traffic control at fairs and festivals, snow removal requested by mayor, MABAS box in one fire dept
We use our CERT members to support special events throughout the year. All of our CERT members are first aid certified by the Red Cross and use their skills to support our local Fire and EMS. All “response” CERT members are required to complete IS100, 200, 700, 800, and 317 prior to being activated.
During Ike, CERT staffed the call center at Emergency Management along with volunteers from other organizations. At that time the program, under a different manager, was catch and release. They now staff the EM booth for public events carrying the preparedness and volunteer message into the community. Their annual ICS exercise is held in support of Texas Fallen Firefighters LODD Task Force handling Ops, Comms, and Logs for their annual BBQ Cook Off, Bike Ride and Fire festival. It is a 3-day event that begins tomorrow. They have worked in support of Marathons and MS 150 bike rides. CERT is responsible for registration of evacuees during a mass evacuation at two locations in the county. This gives them responsibility over loading busses and associating evacuees with their bus in the Statewide tracking system. This is accomplished in time for CERT members to evacuate if they choose with their families and prepare their homes for a coming storm event. They have trained for Missing Persons and Evidence Search, and are now being recognized by local law enforcement for call out for those situations.
In search for missing people, rehab and air bottle change out at large fire scenes, train derailments
We have been lucky so for with no real disasters but the CERT program has assisted with several public events. They also take part in any functional or full scale exercises we hold or take part in.
Structure Fires, Wild Fires, Searching for missing children, evacuation of Apartment Structure Fire, Flood assistance.
The Julian CERT CORE members are required to take all of the above ICS training. Assist with evacuations during our frequent wildfires, managing and opening the shelter. Julian volunteers provide the first-aid booths, HAM communications – eyes and ears, parking assistance, and general assistance for our local events. Mobilizing for town decorating for Country Christmas, and demobilizing for un-decorating afterwards.
For CERT-specific fundraising and providing a first aid tent in lieu of the fire dept at certain beach events for a donation.
Our program is very new with only two classes completed. We have invited CERT volunteers to participate in exercises and community events and hope to increase their participation as the program grows.
The CERT members help in several community events through the year as traffic control and walking through large crowds to monitor for medical problems etc. They also help inside the EOC during those events. Members set up displays at many events during the year as well giving out information. CERT members set up and maintained a Red Cross Distribution point for 7 days after the catastrophic floods of 2010.
To participate in Emergency Management Exercises
To check on the elderly in very hot weather
To help pass out water to people in need.
Emergency and non-emergency …traffic control, parades, safety fairs and booths, DWI checkpoints, exercises.
Mass Care Assistance in feeding and sheltering operations, EOC operations, Missing Person searches, Community Events, Traffic Control, Radio Operations, Disaster Response and recovery Operations, Training and Exercises, Flood Response, whereever they can supplement and support emergency responders and they have received the requisite training
Yes we have. They have been used in a number of situations – providing support services, traffic control, missing person search, first aid stations and the like.
We use our CERT volunteers for a wide variety of things. Demos at school and businesses, support for our Emergency Operations Center, tours for our new facilities, CERT recruitment (because nobody can tell better than them what the class offers).
Outreach, sporting events as course marshals, water stops, instructors, search and rescue of missing persons, pet sheltering, point of distribution sites, cooling station/first aid at community events during the hotter months, administrative support for program, technical support for program with GIS, IT, etc., preparing SOG’s and plans.
Just getting started. Will incorporate them into our POD plans to start, and then assign them to volunteer management.
Event staffing, disaster information and reception center, shelter staffing
Assist with 5K running event for traffic control
Assist with Parades
Traffic Control
Participate in multiple exercises and trainings within the Homeland Security Region
Assist with fairs
Provide basic first aid at events
Assist with parking control
We have used them for community presentations, working in MOCOM for fair, damage assessment during our major storm, helping the health department during the Enbridge Oil spill, assisting with flu clinics
Shelter operations, missing person search, support at large working fires, support staff when our Emergency Operations Center is activated, Supplemental support to emergency services during large scale events such as severe storms and recently, hurricane Irene.
Additionally, our CERT team is involved in local special events such as parades, July 4th fireworks, street fairs, and charity events.
To help with community events.
Shelter ops
We use them to assist with the Operation: Take Me Home program. They maintain the database and learn to track the transmitters that the special needs population wear if they are prone to wandering.
We include them in exercises and some have aided the Health Dept. during the Pandemic Flu outbreak.
Non-emergency: City sponsored events like Concerts, Fairs, Community Outreach, Sport competitions; CERT volunteer assist in education, hydration, registration and screening booths/stations.
Emergency: Hurricane Wilma in 2005, staffed points of distribution for ice, water, tarps.
Information distribution for FEMA insurance claims, social services from city, county, state.
Our CERT personnel have been used for operating a shelter and county events.
We do not have an organized CERT team program. Training is offered for personal use – take care of yourself, your family and help your neighbors.
Community events
Public education and relations, emergency operations, EOC staff
Staff EOC
Work as a strike team doing Check in/Status Recorder in large scale events
Wide-area search
Large event venue support
They have been used at community events.
Supplement Sheriff’s Dept. volunteers in Search & Rescue operations
Traffic Control at Mass Clinics
Guide people to and through the Mass Clinics (inside)
Staff phones at Flood Resource Center
Staff First Aid station at County Fair and other events
Additional workers for Centennial event
Workers at Public Health booth at County Fair
Shovel snow away from fire hydrants
Collect food items for Food Shelf
For Training and transfer information for safety .
City sponsored events, deployment for flu vaccination clinics, local fairs and special events.
We require ICS-100, 200, & 700. CERT volunteers are deployed locally and regionally during emergencies, large-scale planned events, exercises, parades, festival booths, event guides or ambassadors, air shows, vehicular & pedestrian traffic control, guarding downed wires, and when needed for reception sites, registration and other administrative duties.
Flood fighting
Staff incident command posts, community events
For traffic control and sheltering situations
Not for an actual emergency or disaster. In the past, they have been utilized to assist in some public events.
Situational awareness at large events, preparedness presentations/awareness at community events, digging out hydrants and bus stops after snowstorms
Volunteer details & Training Drills.
County and Local Disaster Exercises
Assisting Red Cross in Shelter management
Directing Traffic at collisions & parades
Informational booths
Yes- during exercises, for a search of a lost child, tornado response
Community Outreach ex. Monthly Street Fair (Village Fest)
Branch Leaders
Disaster Medical Assistance
Containers (DMAC) maintenance and clean-out
Radio Communication
During an emergency: perform windshield survey, switch oxygen tanks
Yes on multiple deployments.
Hurricane Preparedness
As community outreach, role players in exercises, community events and trainers in communities.
Emergency Operations Center support.
Local relief efforts
Note: We require all the above ICS for members, plus ICS 300 and 400 for Trainers.
Our volunteers are deployed an average of 50 times per year on both emergency and agency volunteer deployments. We assist police with traffic, bystanders and security at major events, distribute information at community events, manage spontaneous volunteers during emergencies, serve on City EOP Boards, complete command level training to serve under the PSC in one city, and under the OSC in another. We assist fire districts during their training exercises and network with the county wildland SAR team to increase response partnership in the urban/wildland interface. Our Coordinator sits on the County Emergency Planning Board,Chairs the WOU Safety Committee, Networks with Tribal Housing and Business Emergency Planners, and sits on the Citizen Corps Council. We serve alongside CERT teams in 3 counties that border ours, bolstering their ranks for deployments in their areas as well.
Yes – 3 or 3 ice storms and heat waves,one hurricane –
They man our EOC, Shelters and maintain generators at major highway intersections, call our RUOK registry
Yes during large fires and some search and rescue
Traffic control; SAR; perimeter control
SAR, Fire Support, Debris Management, Command Post, Traffic Control, Community Preparedness.
We are currently in the genesis of building a core group of CERT graduates to create a CERT Corps in Santa Barbara City.
Not for emergencies, but they have provided assistance at the following events: Halloween safe streets, 4th of July, art and wine festival, silver dragon exercise, mock EQ drills, etc.
Traffic control and cooling stations at larger events.
Teams were activated in response to floods two years in a row to fill & place sandbags, direct traffic, answer phones & drive FEMA personnel around. Teams have also helped at Red Cross shelters opened for winter storms. They also do demonstrations at events, help with classes, and do outreach through churches & civic groups.
Sandbagging, EOC ops, searching for lost person (urban), phone banks, traffic/line management (H1N1 vaccination efforts)
Other notes: Do combination of Train and Release and Train and Maintain. The latter group is our “CERT Leaders,” and they are our core volunteer group. Lots of cross-training, ongoing monthly refresher/advanced training, etc. ICS training for our CERT Leaders: ICS-100 and ICS-700 required. ICS-200 suggested. Also lots of our CERT Leaders have amateur radio licenses.
Our focus is on neighborhood preparedness. They spearhead development and maintenance of the neighborhood team with support from the Emergency Manager. CERT volunteers are used for public education and have been asked to assist with sandbagging operations. They also are key points for communication during disasters such as fires, etc.
Lost Children Searches – multiple times
Instructors
Program Development
Creating Instructional Videos
Missions in support of City Services- see AAR
AAR
Call outs for lost adults/child/flyers to cut crime in certain areas
Fairs – information and promotional
Final exercise victims
General first aid at large events
Plan exercises/present exercises
Communication Support
Evacuation Center Operations
Event Support
First Aid Station
Public Education Events
Reconnaissance
Community Outreach for personal preparedness
Disaster training exercises
Neighborhood formations
Shelter set-up and management (in conjunction with the Red Cross)
portable shelter assembly
distributing water test kits in flood stricken neighborhoods
stand-by to assist with wildfire evacuation
traffic cont
health and safety fair outreach
role-playing victims for local and state exercises
Fireworks and Special Events
Missing Persons Searches
Homecoming & Christmas Parade Traffic Management
July 4th Fireworks Events – parking/traffic mgt.
Community Clean-up Projects
Fire Extinguisher Training for Community
CERT Training Facility “loaned” to AHA for CPR, and local nursing program for “Health Clinic”
Crowd Managers at Street Concerts
Traffic Control, Storm Duty
They are involved in most planned and unplanned events in one way or another.
Community support activities, SAR when requested by the Sheriff, damage assessment, EOC stress test.
Vaccine clinics
POD
Shelters
Disaster Response
Assist Police with searches, crowd control, traffic control, patrol
Public event support with Police and Fire. Airshow, parades, etc
No actual call outs yet.
Attending monthly tabletop exercises, get monthly call out drill, attend monthly meeting and “refresher” train
Our CERT teams are required to take 100, 200, 700 and 800.
Yes. During flood,community events and training for the EMA.
Local community events
Sandbag operations for the 2011 flood
Regional events with other communities like 911 Hero days
At the T-Bones baseball game to hand out preparedness material.
Yes. We utilize them day to day activities within the police department. They are also utilized for specific events – traffic control, safety, medical/first aid, search & rescue, ARES/HAM, sheltering operations, donations, EOC support, etc. ICS requirements – all team members are required to completed IS-100, 200, 700 and 800.
Application process – all interested team members must completed the full 32-hours CERT class, submit an application to the PD, pass the background check, complete a ride along, complete the ICS classes. Once all of this has been completed then the team will decide on if they come onto the team. This is one of two “officially” sponsored teams in the State of Colorado. The city pays for liability costs associated with this volunteer team.
Staffing First Aid and information booths at events and drills.
Responded to requested deployments by several first responder agencies (floods, S&R, winter storms, etc.), safety fairs, community awareness, public events.
We supplement our Civil Air Patrol missions with CERT members, much of the training is similar and CERT is in fact easier for me to qualify a person in than our CAP structure
Small segment as traffic controllers for triathlon
As victims in full-scale exercises, as responders in full-scale exercises, to assist in fire extinguisher training public outreach.
Assist FD for security during fireworks and practice burn.
Damage assessment for FD after windstorm.
Man phone bank at EOC after ice storm to direct people to shelter due to power outage.
We require all volunteers to complete all of the above ICS classes.
Staffing EOC,
PF Chang Marathon,
POD Exercises,
Missing Person and Human Remains Searches in support of the Police Missing Person Detail,
Shelter Management,
Volunteer Reception Center setting up and management,
Amateur Radio Communication Support,
Setting up and assisting in management of Command Post, etc.
Yes, not in disaster ops though. Instructors, events, educational programs.
About 3 times a year for community events (we call it training for DSW purposes), and for wildfires (fire spotting, evacuation site staffing, auxiliary communications) , the SDG&E blackout, high rainfall events.
We have them out probably once within every 60-day period.
Special needs day, other CERT classes, MCI drills
Events, drills, EOC’s, flooding, hurricanes, cooling centers, communications.
Yes, during a tornado. Traffic accidents and large fires.
Man reception centers
search & rescue for lost people
looking into preliminary damage assessment
extra set of eyes during events
check on people after a storm
Yes for flooding, major snow storms, hurricanes and community events.
Yes, many times.
Recruiting at different events.
A variety of ways to augment public service activities, public education/outreach activities, maintain inventories and maintenance of equipment, drills, exercises, training classes, first aid standby, communications, traffic control, search and rescue, evacuations, conference registration, set up and take down, and the list goes on.
Aid shelters in organizing for disaster preparedness; staff community info booths. We haven’t existed long, and are only at the stage I feel they can be put into service.
Volunteers are trained pora cert attend, assist and guide the communities coperamos with other government and private organization
Parades
Lost Child
Neighborhood canvass
Special events like 4th of July
Was involved in two search and rescue
Worked the Kleen Energy explosion site in Middletown, CT
Assist Volunteer Fire Dept for yearly carnival
Assist FD for yearly fireworks
We are part of the Public Safety Tent at public functions
Team marches in Memorial Day parade
Part of the Emergency Management Advisory Council (monthly mtgs)
As needed to assist fire and police per their request
We have an emergency communications with 14 ham radio people
I have used my CERT volunteers on a drill. The ones that want to go further are placed in a database in the County DMAC Region.
Missing persons, crowd control, shelter ops,
H1N1 Distribution Site Volunteers
Yes. Local events annually. “Ice Storm” of December 2008 in North Central Massachusetts.
Our community has used CERT volunteers for training with the Fire District on Burn to Learns (we do the rehab). Whenever they have an event we assist.
If they have a large structure fire or vehicle accident that is not supported by DOT, we provide traffic control support and rehab.
We help with City events including Holiday Lights Parade, Food Giveaways, Emergency Shelters, and are planning the 50th BD party for our City with the officials.
We are beginning to map our neighborhoods.
We assist with smoke alarm installation and giveaways.
We assist the Fire Department with other community events like “Safety on Wheels”, etc.
For local searches for missing persons, at special community events with a booth to promote CERT and as location for lost and found and first aid.
Staffing / Running shelters
Sand-bagging
EOC staffing
Traffic / crowd control at community events
First aid / monitoring coverage during road races
Re-Hab staffing for Fire Department
Our volunteers man the EOC and maintain the 214’s by discipline as well as providing emergency communications with our Ham radio team.
We have neighborhood teams that assist during weather events and basement pump outs.
We are in the process of establishing our marine division with a donated 25-foot boat. (we have several licensed captains on our team)
We have an MOU with the US Coast Guard to do shoreline searches for lost swimmers/boaters/divers.
We have a dedicated shelter team, animal shelter team and ham radio communications team.
Shelters, crowd control at City functions, fireworks, fairs etc;
Traffic Control for 5K races, beach events and large scale rescue events
Manning emergency preparedness booths at National Night Out and other community events throughout the year
Answering telephones in a non emergency capacity during storms and other events
Securing danger areas after and during storms and events
Manning shelters
To assist with periodic drills, but have yet to call them out on a actual emergency.
Exercises, public events, other CERT classes
Recent storms on campus, helping out at sports events
Not yet, no.
Hurricane Irene, H1N1 flu clinic, traffic control, search & rescue. Neighborhood cleanup safety unit. MEDS POD
Search and rescue,
door to door contact with tornado victims,
non emergency intersection blocking for police and sheriff’s dept,
public relations events,
weather radio programming
Everything from damage assessment, disaster recovery, POD centers, traffic control, marketing, to spotters during water based events
The MOVR CERT program has six counties and the volunteers are used in outreach, at fairs, community events, drills and exercises.
USAR and SAR, Disaster recovery, Community Action Programs, Large Non-Disaster Events i.e. Concerts or Fairs
To date such as assisting law enforcement at parades and activities such as the Florida hurricane conference. This year we will also be assisting in the call center for the RNC.
Tornado
Search and Rescue
Flood
Special Events
Our CERT Team is through our company.
We have had no need to use the team in a response to a disaster.
We use them when we have fire drills, sheltering drills and EMS Calls.
They have been used in our PODs
They are used in our National Night Out program.
They are used in Town drills. They have been used in our emergency shelters.
Note: many of our CERT members have been trained in shelter management
We have deployed to two major storm projects so far this year alone. Our last major deployment was March 2012 when we put teams on the ground in Cherryvale, KS, to do damage survey assessments as well as to support the local police department at their request.
We use our teams also for public awareness demonstrations and will be active the weekend of 23-24 June for a 27-hour combination exercise utilizing our RACES, CERT and other responders.
Sheltering management and operations EOC personnel (they must have ICS 100, 200, 300, 400, 700, and 800)
Search and Rescue team
They are asked to assist with various community events such as parades and festivals.
Assist with public events and to respond to large fires or disasters when they occur.
Support County/City disaster exercises, community outreach for recruitment purposes.
Mass Vaccination Clinics
Public Health Shelter Operations
EOC Operations
Residential Demudding after floods
Snow removal – critical infrastructure
Patrol of critical fire areas with local Fire and Police
Staffing illegal fireworks hotlines with local Fire Dept.
Providing 1st aid services at community events
public education/safety fairs
Mock disasters, POD exercises, lost child searches, sand bagging
During H1N1 outbreak, CERT assisted during vaccinations drive.
During a recent wild land fire, CERT provided food and drinks
During Parade and festival.
Recruitment
CERT activated in a community struck by tornado in 2007. CERT participates in public events to distribute public education materials.
Help at the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) for hurricanes.
Help at shelters.
Summit CERTs have never been officially activated.
Notes about some of the questions above:
We both Train and Release AND Train and Maintain, they do not have to join the team after the course, but we still get about 50% who do join the team. We are in a rural, mountainous area, so our team is more regional than neighborhood. Our Staging Area is our local volunteer fire department. We ask our CERTs to do all of the ICS course listed, but as part of their advance training, not the original coursework.
Our program is relatively new so we have not had the chance to fully utilize them. However, we will use them for community events as well as fire department public functions where there is community involvement and a need for additional personnel to assist.
Sandbagging at a flood. Manning booths at community events.
Traffic control, first aid station at local festival, operating shelter for stranded motorists during blizzard
OES will not allow us to use our CERT volunteers.
We just now received approval from OES to move forward with an advanced CERT program where 100 advanced CERTS will be trained by Fire and will be utilized as DSW’s by Ventura County Fire.
Yes – Cosco Busan Oil Spill – shore watch/prohibit entry as well as many community event – table/information, include them in EOC exercises
Medical Exercise Victims for Hospital Drills, Assistance with civic events
Some of our CERT members are part of our Local Emergency Management Dept .We also use the CERT training as a recruitment tool. Also anyone who joins the Beverly Emergency Management has to take the online CERT training as well as the hands on training ICS100 and 700 Hazmat Awareness, Are you ready, as well as BLS CPR and First Responder. We attempt to do this all in house as well as FEMA online courses, Also some become members of the local MRC and help out at large events etc.
Yes. No real life activations but we use them on a regular basis in training scenarios for the police and other community public safety agencies.
In Shelters, fairs, Parades, Vaccine clinics, First Aid Stations as additional team members,
Exercise victims
EOC coordinators
Staff disaster preparedness booths
Assist folks with development of family disaster plans
Yes.
Tornado response and cleanup (cleanup safety leaders)
Power plant explosion. Numerous disaster drills.
Special events coverage, community education programs, responder support (food), emergency management support (clerical), vaccination clinics, crowd management (information only)
April 11, 2011 – Tsunami Incident-Beach Clearing and Transport
Mutsanita Traffic Management-Annual Event
July 4th Fire Works Security,
Parade and Fund Raising-Annual Event
Nehalem Bay Fire and Rescue-Firefighter Rehabilitation/Vitals monitoring – Burn-to-Learn
Map Your Neighborhood
Communications Exercise – Annual Event
Yes, many times. Katrina was our largest effort.
Outreach, Alzheimer’s patient searches
Only to assist in exercise and functions thus far.
Damage assessment
Power outage survey
Deliver water when an outage happens
Eyes and ears at special events
Assist at dispatch with taking calls, or make calls to other agencies
Work emergency operations center
Shelter operations
Placement of traffic safety equipment in emergency.
Rehab operations for firefighters and police
Check on critical care patients during power failures that need power for equipment.
Assist in school lockdown drills and evacuations by doing escorts to transport staging areas.
Hold the FEMA-CERT training classes annually.
Developed, and added to our annual training, a Mass Inoculation Class
2005 Volunteers deployed to Florida – Hurricane Katrina
2005 Held the first Mass Inoculation Drill in the county with 125 volunteer workers and 350 mock victims
2006 Participated in the largest Mass Casualty Drill in the City of Cleveland put on by the U.S. Coastguard involving 750 different responding agencies
Held Search and Rescue drills in our local communities
Participated in the Cleveland Hopkins Airport Drill
2008 Created and drilled a drive-through dispensing clinic (and incorporated this into our MIC class)
2009 Participated in an Active Shooter Drill at a local school
2009 Held a live H1N1 clinic
2010 Held training for Flood Damage Assessment
2006 and 2011 Assisted our local communities with flooding issues
On an annual basis we have volunteered as a team for Memorial Day, Fireworks, Home Days, Blood Drives, Food Bank, etc.
Yes, we’ve had one simulated emergency test.
Community events and drills
Still recruiting members for the team. Goal is to start training this fall.
Fire & weather related emergencies
Planned public events
Public Education
Teen CERT Program
Staff event first aid booths, traffic control, missing person searches, sand bag operations, trigger point watchers, debris removal, etc., task objectives, missions.
Search and Rescue call out,
Local running races for first aid and course management,
Smoke detector blitzes,
Power line down response
We have used CERT volunteers for support help for planned events. We also do training exercises on a regular basis. We are just a small jurisdiction and so far we have not had an emergency that required CERT since our teams were formed.
Sandbagging, traffic control and neighborhood information centers
Classroom training monthly, drills semi-annually. Traffic control/parking patrol at County-level events. Managing and operating food points of distribution. Assisting with shelter management. Assisting with operation of County general services during major distress.
Not yet, but have some upcoming events that we will use them.
Cooling Stations
Sheltering Operations
Working in EOC
Community Presentations
Parking cars for community events
Assist in regional events
Point of Distribution centers traffic control
Search and rescue
Damage assessments
Critical infrastructure surveys
Assist paid personnel at event informational booths.
Just started the program, have not had a chance to use volunteers yet.
Yes, for traffic control during a city sponsored 5K run.
This is our first full year of hosting CERT training so they haven’t been mobilized yet. However, we plan to use them for commencement, large events, and during emergencies.
Special events
Community Events…
Special Teams within Police, Fire and Public Works..
Emergent Call out to assist Police, Fire and Public Works
Community events such as County Drills, Livestrong bike event, Picnic Day, fireworks and other City events.
Damage Assessment, Points of Distribution Sites, Sheltering Activities, Disaster Response, EOC Support Staff
Winter storms, tornados, special events, floods
Shelter Management, Neighborhood outreach following floods, community preparedness presentations during planned events, some traffic management during large events
Call out for Rehab on large fires; answering phones in fire station during large incidents; use them on public functions such as Firefighter Appreciation day; also talking to civic groups about disaster preparedness; they also operate a fire prevention information booth at the local farmers market
Our CERTs have performed maintenance training only. We have not had a deployment or planned event.
We have no disasters to respond to. We use them at community events for our advertising booth. We have volunteer opportunities for the fire dept. If they are on an extended call, they can call CERT volunteers to bring them food and drinks if necessary.
Volunteers trained in CERT register as emergency workers through our Office of Emergency Management. They assist with first aid tents for bike races, community fairs, etc.
Rehab for fires, community outreach, community events, searches for lost citizens, smoke detector campaigns, and mentoring of other CERT classes.
At community events, table services at preparedness events, serving at crab feeds, some serve on community committees/boards,webinar at CalEMA.
Sandbagging operations for flooding,
Rehab for extended Fire Ops,
EOC staffing,
Damage Assessment
Road closure assessment,
Crowd and traffic control at public events.
Power generation and lighting at public events.
Hurricane Awareness booths at public events.
Communications at Public events.
Providing first aid to gatherings of of up to 6000 people at a time at our town squares
During drills, announced and no notice
Volunteers for large-scale events to assist with parking, crowd management and first aid. They have also been used as victims for other drills.
We use our CERTs as support in MED PODS, EOC Operations, Community Events, helping the state with 211 staffing phones.
H1N1
Missing Person Search
We use our CERT volunteers frequently. We use our CERT volunteers for annual events and classes, such as: festivals, fundraisers, fire extinguisher classes, smoke and tornado trailer classes for children, emergency preparedness days, smoke detector checks for elderly, etc.
At these events they have provided any of the following services: first aid, information booth, emergency preparedness literature, fire extinguisher usage, provide rides to those with special needs on golf carts at festivals, direct traffic.
We have also used them on multiple emergency and disaster deployments, which include: summer and winter storms, floods (flash flood and large river levee failure), search for evidence thrown into woods.
Their tasks that they have been assigned to in the past for these disasters have included: going door–to-door in search of those with Special Needs (and to provide them with small generator if they cannot be relocated to established Shelter), go door-to-door with information flyers to residence about what to expect and who to call, damage assessment, work with and inside EOC, sandbag, manage other volunteers for sandbagging operations, close streets due to danger of water, trees down, or powerlines down, etc.
Yes at two major apartment fires during the past two years. Once a year at our Fire Department Open House, .
Staffing first aid stations and rehabilitation sites along Boston Marathon Route in town.
We have not activated CERT yet.
Help staff booths at events like the fair, helped with parking for an event at the hospital, help us give preparedness training at schools and help conduct exercises.
Yes. For search and rescue, rehab for FD and for assistance at community events.
They are used at every city function as crowd managers, parking assistants, first aid, etc.
Firefighter rehab, delivering SCBA bottles, public education, traffic and crowd control at city events
We do not have a usage program. They are self-maintained.
To assist the city and the elderly during events, have been activated for sports events, volleyball, and now regularly the bike race where once the FD was overwhelmed with 16 injuries in one race. First Aid at public events.
Arson Watch Patrol, a canteen service for firefighter relief, auxiliary communications, promoting disaster awareness through the community and maintaining CERT operational readiness.
Some are joint volunteers for the PD which do traffic control for city events. Some are hams and also participate in city events, so serve both CERT (under the FD) and PD.
Minor use in last wind storm at Ops Center.
Concord encourages graduates to participate in drills. Martinez has used CERT to help county SAR look for missing disabled.
Martinez also provides limited traffic control for downtown parades and such.
Some of the things we are engaged in include first aid for the Montana State Fair and other community events, working with our City/County Health Department during mass flu shot clinics, working in staging area during wild land fire response, community support during flooding, First Aid/CPR/AED training for community groups, disaster exercises and so forth.
Many are also trained and respond to ARES, RACES, NWS, our Sheriff’s Office, SAR, and Volunteer Fire Rescue units.
Missing persons, community event PR & aid stations, disaster mitigation, training
Support at exercises, informational tables at events, etc.
Since our CERT program is run by the Police Department I have created a CERT Leadership group of 8 VIPS/CERT volunteers who coordinate most of the training, drills and data collection. Our County Fire District allows us to use their facility for training classes and drills. We hold monthly meetings open to the public to support those who have received CERT training and offer refresher training. We hold biannual drills in neighborhoods throughout the city for those who have organized their neighborhoods.
Wildland fire surveys
Flood fighting efforts
Assist with ongoing maintenance and training.
Help with door to door notifications for evacuations
Help with door to door checks on elderly during power outages
Ongoing training opportunities.
Local functions , Hurricane Irene, County functions and CERT towns who need extra CERT members for their functions.
It is a new program so they have not had a chance to get used yet.
Public functions within and for the city. Assist fire dept. during storms and large fires.
First Quarter 2012 1105 Volunteer Hours
Second Quarter 2012 1158 Volunteer Hours
Most of our hours come from outreach, office detail, special events within FD/Cape Coral Community/Lee County. We have not deployed for disaster event.
First Aid Tent at Annual Community Picnic;
Fixed food for city workers during a prolonged winter snow;
Door to door assessment of community to determine needs
Day Shelter when Ivan blew through and took out most people’s electricity, we provided a place to charge batteries, hot food, TV viewing for news, batteries for flashlights and portable radios, water and some ice;
Provided smoke detector info at Fire Prevention Festivities;
Not yet, we are forming our teams Sept 2012 and will use them after that.
We have used volunteers for traffic control, exercises, and maintaining booths at festivals.
Phone centers
Traffic Control
Assist at large public events
Tsunami Drills / Events
Assist in wildland fires
Yes, Shelter Operations, Wildfires, POD distributions, community events, cooling stations, EOC operations, evacuations, traffic control
During floods, wildland fires, local 4th of July Parade.
In the event of an emergency, and if all resources are depleted and not available, SPU CERT when activated can assist the Utility and provide critical support and coordination of services to our customers. Typical emergencies are localized flooding and water main breaks, requiring deployment of personnel to inform the public and provide general assistance.
Numerous firefighter rehab calls, missing children; emergency services, military and law enforcement exercises, floodfighting, staffing cooling centers, distributing educational materials, extensive community service and public outreach.