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CERT Notes from Meeting held April 16th, 2002 There were 29 out of 51 in attendance. Again, thank you to Doris Kennedy for the use of her hangar and chairs. Guest Speaker Jenny Weber, CERT and CPR instructor, was our featured speaker to the delight of the attendees. Jenny reviewed the different types of bleeding and what to do to stop them. Using rubber gloves and bandaging materials for everybody so we could all practice on each other, she demonstrated how to bandage a severe injury. She then showed each of us how to remove soiled rubber gloves and dispose of them. Following the first aid session, Jenny gave us a quiz on identifying the severity of injuries and the application of triage categories. (Remember the triage tags with the colored strips? The quiz asked us to identify which color went with each scenario.) It was a terrific session and we thank Jenny for her time and energy. After several attendees expressed interest in having Jenny return and do the CERT First Aid module, she agreed that it was a good idea. We let you know when this will be set up. We may wait until the fall when everyone is back. For those of you who are interested in more involved first aid training, Jenny will let us know when the next $91.00 First Responder Course is scheduled.
Airplane incident review: Pete Rouse, SC Airport Manager, sent a letter of appreciation to the people from our CERT who assisted with the plane incident on the runway on Sunday April 7th. Seeing a plane make a gear-up landing, CERT members Les and Ann Lowman ran home, got their back packs, etc., and returned and asked Pete how they could assist. Ann and Les were asked to help direct aircraft on the ground to a location where they could access the runway and continue take offs. They used their CERT radios to communicate with Pete. The Airport Team was short handed and they were in need of additional help. Pete wished he had more of us to assist with traffic and crowd control. Les and Ann spoke to our group and said it would have been helpful to have had more of us there to help alert traffic coming from all directions as to what was ahead and where they could go to take off. This was the first day of Sun N' Fun, so you can imagine the number of planes taking off that morning! Suggestions were made that Pete Rouse and Security keep CERT in mind in the future for such incidents. Security could initiate the call tree to rally assistance. Richard Becker said this was a good example of how CERT can participate in our community. He encouraged us to wear our radios or monitor them at home in the event something happens that we could assist in.
Other CERT Business Mike Keemar, Chairman of Wings and Wheels and CERT member, addressed the group in reference to CERT participation at Wings and Wheels this past March. He said that he and Security got a lot of good feedback from the community regarding traffic control and the participation of about five CERT volunteers. Mike went on to ask us to consider making Wings and Wheels volunteering a priority next year to support this event and get even more good exposure for CERT. He sweetened the offer by saying that CERT might even get some event $. We'll let you know the date so you can mark your calendars early. Officer Walter Melton from Security gave an interesting pitch on the problems Security is dealing with in our community such as property damage and theft. Spruce Creek has grown in population but Security staff has not. He explained that Security will be doing extra patrols (out of uniform so they are less conspicuous) and that they are looking for CERT members to participate as "Citizen Patrol" along with them. If you would like to be an extra pair of eyes and assist Security, contact Capt. Ed Hickox at 304-1907 or Front Gate @ 756-6125 or back gate 788-6838 and ask for Walter Melton. CERT (Security) Reserve - this is different than the program above. Some of our members have already begun their training and gave us a brief update. They have worked the gates and ridden around with Security while they patrol the community. They all said it's interesting and not nearly as easy as Security makes it look. CERT (Security) Reserve requires 15 hours of on the job training with Security. Once trained, members can assist with special events, gate operations, extra patrols to stop/deter vandals, and provide crowd control. If you are interested in participating and haven't yet contacted Capt. Ed Hickox, please do so at 304-1907. Ed would like those that sign up to be able to spend at least 1.5 - 2.0 hours per training session. Shirts will be provided. Treasurer's Report - Jackie Yorker gave us an update on our funds. One check had been written for the radios. Our balance is $1,418.29.
Defibrillators There was much discussion about defibrillators. It is generally felt that Spruce Creek needs at least two units, one in each of two patrol vehicles. CERT will not be purchasing these as it is our mission "to provide the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of victims" in an emergency. Spruce Creek officers are typically the first ones on the scene of a heart attack. However, we could participate in fundraisers sponsored by the community if the CERT membership agrees. Capt. Ed Hickox will be addressing defibrillators with the POA Safety and Security Committee and will use his column in the Update to deliver status to our community.
MAY MEETING: Capt. Ed Hickox has asked that we perform another emergency alert exercise (similar to the radio test we did a few months ago) before the hurricane season is upon us. What he would like us to do is: (1) assume that the phones and power are out, (2) expect Security to alert one person in each zone, (3) have that person assemble their zone members as needed to begin a complete, street-by-street assessment of "damage" in that zone, and (4) report the findings to CERT Central assembled under the "tree." This exercise will be done on Monday evening, May 13th, allowing as many people to get involved as possible. I will send an e-mail later to let you know what time the exercise will begin. We will critique our exercise at our regular 2 pm meeting on Tuesday May 14th. Besides giving us more practice using our radios, this exercise will give Ed and his Security team a good idea of how long it takes us to scan our zones, including taxiways, golf courses, parks, etc. To make things more interesting, a couple of signs listing "damage or injuries" will be planted in each zone for us to find and report back to CERT command. Please take the time to meet your zone team members (or at least mark where they live on your zone maps) before the 13th. Also, if any zone members want to hold a zone meeting to get to know each other and to make rendezvous plans, go for it. The more communication we have, the better. Administrative Note Please delete Pete Vandersluis and Joy Almberg from the roster and call tree. |
