San Diego CERT

[OLLIE]

Won't the San Diego CERT academy cover that area? (South County)

Monday is my big test for my Emergency Response class which is he prereq for EMT training. 9 days from 5-10PM after working 8 hours at your day job can take a lot out of you. Next spring I'll enroll in an EMT class at Palomar College if all goes according to plan then WEMT class next summer.

Each area has their own CERT Team. I believe the area I'm pursuing is part of East County. It covers all the way out to Boulevard.

[Dennis David]

Well I passed my Emergency Response class so I am all set to enroll in the EMT class next semester. Yesterday was the first day of the CERT Academy. It's held at the San Diego Fire-Rescue Training Facility near the airport. There were around 40 people that showed up from all walks of life, young and old. All had a common desire to help their community and quite a few were past victims of disaster. This is the same thing that you see in Red Cross volunteers but in addition there seemed to be a few people who actually were interested in pursuing a career in disaster management. I guess we can thank Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist that for too long we have had a false sense of security and need to be better prepared to face the future. I am not advocating that we start looking under our beds each night but it's important that we all assume a collective responsibility for our own safety. Yes that does include personal fire arms but under sensible controls. I think that while we may disagree on certain details it seems clear that the rules we have currently are anything but sensible.

Not to get further into that debate, the first day of CERT class went over an introduction of what a CERT member does (Support the fire department) and what they don' t do (Run into burning buildings). We had one short exercise in teamwork where we had to build a 5 foot tower using colored paper in 5 minutes. I was able to lead my team to a successful conclusion but it would not have been possible without my decision to leave the most menial task for myself (Operating the tape dispenser) Still you could see it was hard for some people to assume a task and let others do theirs. Also for some people making a decision on anything was/is difficult. Never having that problem it takes some effort to try to put yourself in their position not ever having felt quite the same way.

That leads me to something that was said over and over in my ER class. Never tell the victim you know how they feel. We had to pay $42 for a backpack including helmet, vest, etc. Most of the stuff in the bag was fairly low grade and will be replaced by my own stuff but they can still come in handy in a emergency kit for your family. While I am signed up with CERT and planning on getting my DSW my ultimate goal is joining the San Diego Search & Rescue, I understand from talking to them that they are setting up a new USAR unit with shiny new equipment, thanks again to the above mentioned events.

Next week we will play with fire ...

[DaveK]

Very good stuff.

It seems like a good idea to get both the CERT training and some form of first aid training. Ideally, it would be great to have either or both offered at some of our bigger events.

To what degree does the CERT training involve the use of amateur radio?

[Dennis David]

I'll have a better idea once I complete the academy but from what I understand they are really starting to push the use of Amateur radios. I guess unlike the Red Cross where you are just as likely to use their bands CERT will use the Ham bands. Where I think I'll really use the radio is if I join the San Diego Search and Rescue.

As far as medical training the plan is to enroll in EMT next semester. WEMT upgrade at NOLS in October. It's a lot cheaper than enrolling in WEMT upgrade then going through WEMT through NOLS and I'll be better trained because the class is longer and there are ambulance ride along and emergency room lookie looks.

So everything is on plan I'm studying GIS ArcGIS by ESRI & Remote Sensing using ENVI) at Palomar College, took ER and later EMT -> WEMT at NOLS, will try to join the SD Search & Rescue if they'll have me or if not stay with Red Cross/CERT. The only thing I am behind on is the 4 X 4. Will have to continue to abuse my Audi so that I can trade it in!

I have been taking the FEMA National Incident Management System (NIMS) classes online. So far I have passed IS-100, 200, 700, 701, 702, 800, 802 & 836. They're pretty interesting and the price is right (FREE)

[Dennis David]

Well after spending all day in class and taking my test I have now upgraded to General. I am a happy camper. In the meantime I have joined the SD Sheriff's Search and Rescue. They in fact use their own radios and bands so it looks like most of my amateur radio activity will be with the Red Cross and CERT.

Did I mention that the EMT class I am enrolled in is hard? A test every day (Mon-Wed Evenings) and Saturday skills sessions as well. Just for those who are thinking of taking the EMT class at a college with the goal of being nationally registered anything below 80% is failing. Ouch!

[DaveK]

Well after spending all day in class and taking my test I have now upgraded to General. I am a happy camper. In the meantime I have joined the SD Sheriff's Search and Rescue. They in fact use their own radios and bands so it looks like most of my amateur radio activity will be with the Red Cross and CERT.

Well done!

[Dennis David]

Just ordered my Extra study materials. I am under no elusions that this will be easy but I am determined to get my Extra this summer!