Community Emergency Response Team

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What is CERT and what does CERT do??

In his January 29, 2002, State of the Union address, the President asked that Americans volunteer their services to improve and safeguard our country. The three areas of emphasis for these volunteer efforts are crime, natural disasters, and terrorism. The Citizen Corps Program was created to help Americans meet this call to service. One of the volunteer opportunities offered to the American public under the Citizen Corps umbrella is the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program.

The CERT course, a thirty-two hour commitment, is taught in the community by a trained team of first responders, who have completed a CERT Train-the-Trainer course conducted by their state Office of Emergency Management or FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI). CERT training includes disaster preparedness, disaster fire suppression, basic disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue operations.

CERT members respond after a disaster by:

• Locating and turning off utilities, if safe to do so
• Extinguishing small fires
• Treating life-threatening injuries until professional assistance can be obtained
• Conducting light search and rescue operations
• Helping disaster survivors cope with their emotional stressors

Disasters can be:

• Natural
• Manmade
• Technological

Regardless of the event, disasters have several key elements in common:

• They are relatively unexpected, with little or no warning or opportunity to prepare
• Available personnel and emergency services may be overwhelmed initially by demands for their services
• Lives, health, and the environment are endangered

In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, needs will be greater than professional emergency services personnel can provide. In these instances, CERTs become a vital link in the emergency service chain.

The most recent examples that everyone in the Centennial area experienced are the 30+ inch snowfall in March 2003 and the snow blizzards of 2006/2007. Access to food and medicine and emergency care was restricted, and streets were blocked for days.

To learn more, or to register for the free class, please contact Sgt. Randy Councell, Emergency Management Coordinator, at the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office, 13101 East Broncos Parkway, Centennial, Colorado 80112,  phone: 720-874-4186.

Your Home Hazards

Everyone has hazards in their homes. Fixtures and items within a home or garage can pose a hazard during or after a disaster. Some of the hazards include:

• Gas line ruptures from water heaters or ranges displaced by shaking, water, or wind
• Damage from falling books, dishes, or other cabinet contents
• Risk of injury or electric shock from displaced appliances and office equipment
• Fire from faulty wiring, overloaded plugs, frayed electrical cords

There are relatively simple measures that individuals can take to alleviate many home hazards.

• Developing a disaster plan
• Assembling a disaster supply kit
• Developing a safe room in a secure area of the home (in case authorities ask you to stay indoors)

Creating A Family Disaster Plan

A disaster plan can mean the difference between life and death. For example:

• How will you escape your home?
• Where will you meet family members?
• What route will you take out of your neighborhood if evacuation becomes necessary? Do you have an alternate route in case your route is blocked or otherwise impassable?
• What will you take with you?
• Where will you go?
• What will you need to shelter in place? Do you have those items (or enough of those items)?

You should play the "What if?" game (What will I do if this happens?) for every hazard that presents a high risk to the community. Then begin within the home and work outward to answer each of the questions above.

To get started . . .

• Contact your local emergency management office and your local chapter of The American Red Cross.
• Find out which disasters are most likely to happen in your community
• Ask how you would be warned
• Find out how to prepare for each type of disaster
• Meet with your family.
• Discuss the types of disasters that could occur
• Explain how to prepare and respond
• Discuss what to do if advised to evacuate
• Practice what you have discussed
• Plan how your family will stay in contact if separated by disaster
• Pick two meeting places:
• A location a safe distance from your home in case of fire
• A place outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home

• Choose an out-of-state friend as a "check-in contact" for everyone to call
• Complete the following steps
• Post emergency telephone numbers by every phone
• Show responsible family members how and when to shut off water, gas, and electricity at main switches (See diagram at the end of this document)
• Install a smoke alarm on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms; test them monthly and change the batteries two times each year (Change batteries when you change your clocks in the spring and fall.)
• Contact your local fire department to learn about home fire hazards
• Learn first aid and CPR. Contact your local chapter of The American Red Cross for information and training
• Meet with your neighbors
• Plan how the neighborhood could work together after a disaster. Know your neighbors’ skills (medical, technical)
• Consider how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as elderly or disabled persons
• Make plans for child care in case parents can’t get home

Escape Planning . . .

Develop an escape plan that provides for escape from every room. As part of your escape plan:

• Consider the needs of children and physically challenged individuals
• Inform all family members of the plan
• Run practice escape drills

Disaster Supply Kit

The disaster supplies included on this list is fairly complete, and you should determine the supplies that you will need for evacuation, those that you will need to shelter in place, and those that you will need for both.

• Evacuation-only supplies and supplies (e.g., prescription medications) that are required for evacuation and shelter in place should be stored where they can be accessed quickly in an evacuation situation
• Shelter-in-place-only supplies (e.g., 3 days of water for each family member) should be stored in an accessible location within the home

You can cope best by preparing for disaster before it strikes. One way to prepare is by assembling a Disaster Supply Kit. After disaster strikes, you won’t have time to shop or search for supplies. But if you’ve gathered supplies in advance, you and your family can endure an evacuation or home confinement.

1. Review the checklist which follows
2. Gather the supplies from the list
3. Place the supplies you’re apt to need for an evacuation in an easy-to-carry container. These supplies are listed with an asterisk (*)

Water

Store water in plastic containers such as soft drink bottles. Avoid using containers that will decompose or break, such as milk cartons or glass bottles. A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts of water each day. Hot environments and intense physical activity can double that requirement. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people will need more.

• Store 1 gallon of water per person per day (2 quarts for drinking, 2 quarts for food preparation/sanitation.)*
• Keep at least a 3-day supply of water for each person in your household

If you have questions about the quality of the water, purify it before drinking. You can heat water to a rolling boil for 1 minute or use commercial purification tablets to purify the water. You can also use household liquid chlorine bleach if it is pure, unscented, 5.25% sodium hypochlorite. To purify water, use the table below as a guide:

After adding bleach, shake or stir the water container and let it stand 30 minutes before drinking.

Food

Store at least a 3-day supply of nonperishable food. Select foods that require no refrigeration, preparation, or cooking and little or no water. If you must heat food, pack a can of Sterno^®. Select food items that are compact and lightweight. Include a selection of the following foods in your disaster supply kit:

Kitchen Items

First Aid Kit*

Assemble a first aid kit for your home and one for each car. A first aid kit should include:

Include at least one complete change of clothing and footwear per person.

Remember family members with special needs, such as infants and elderly or disabled persons.

*Items marked with an asterisk are recommended for evacuation.

Emergency Utility Shutoffs

The electrical shutoff procedure shows both a circuit box and a fuse box and shows two steps. Step 1 is to turn off all individual breakers (or unscrew fuses). Step 2 is to shut off the main circuit (or main fuse switch).

The water shut-off indicates a clockwise turn of the valve to shut off and a counter-clockwise turn to turn on.

The gas meter shut-off diagram indicates the shut-off valve location on the pipe that comes out of the ground. To turn off the valve, use a wrench to turn the valve clockwise one-quarter turn.