CERT Meeting Notes for April 8th, 2003

Note: Thank you to the 20 people who attended this month’s meeting.

Meeting Highlights
  • Mike Keemar, CERT member and chairman of Wings and Wheels, extended a huge thank you to all the CERT members who helped make this year’s Wings and Wheels the best ever.
  • John Stratton passed around the photo below of our Wings and Wheels CERT display. Thank you to all those who helped set it up and staff it throughout the day.
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  • Dave McCarthy has redesigned the phone tree and had it reviewed by the attendees. He will distribute it once all member information is confirmed.
  • Richard Becker discussed our roll during airport emergencies. The SC Airport Committee and Richard want to meet with the local fire and police departments to discuss the interaction of the various groups when an airport emergency occurs. It was suggested that they also work with the Daytona Beach Fire Dept. since they respond to emergencies at the Daytona Airport. CERT involvement could include crowd control, traffic control on and off the runway and first aid.
  • The CERT members who responded to a recent SC airplane crash stated that helping with this accident was a great learning experience, because they were able to observe the professionals at work.
  • Richard mentioned that there are five fire extinguisher boxes located around the runway area. They contain the extinguisher as well as seat belt cutters.
  • The Community Relations Committee retracted their invitation for Mike and Cherie Keemar to attend the New Comer’s Meeting on behalf of CERT. The committee decided that the New Comer’s Meeting was to be a purely social event vs. anything informative.
  • Alexis Fortune volunteered to contact the people who had indicated an interest in CERT training to get another class going. There were 12 people who signed up at Wings and Wheels. She and Officer Walter Melton will contact Fire and Rescue Services to see about a daytime class late April or early May.
  • Several members have said that they want to experience how the Command Center works. Dave McCarthy, John Stratton and Officer Walter Melton will develop an exercise that will show the CERT Command Center in action. This demo will simulate radio communications with people in the field and show how those manning the center use the radio, the tracking map, checklists etc.  The Command Center drill will be held in place of the scheduled May meeting. We will publish details as they are worked out. Anyone wishing to volunteer to help set this up should contact Dave McCarthy.
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    Guest Speakers:

  • Many thanks to John and Kathy Taylor for showing us their "before and after" video of Hurricane Andrew which struck their neighborhood in south FL. John and Kathy did a terrific job of describing the types of things that impacted them in the aftermath. There were lots of questions and lively discussion. Below, in no particular order, are some of the topics touched on.
  • - They stressed the need to remove anything that could be sucked up by wind and turned into projectiles.
  • - Projectiles caused tremendous damage to windows and screens as well as automobiles.
  • - Debris that collected in wire fences caused the fences to blow over.
  • - After the storm there were no landmarks for orientation… no street signs, no mailboxes, and no trees.
  • - They were without electricity for 11 days; some families were out for weeks.
  • - Fire station radios did not work.
  • - Phones did not work.
  • - They were fortunate to have a small trickle of water. Water more than anything else was a concern.
  • - Once John had a chance to go hunt for his plane, he realized that the damage to airplanes was significant. Whether the planes were hangared or not did not seem to make any difference. Hangars were blown apart like they were made of paper.
  • Things they suggested to have on hand prior to hurricane:
  • - Video tape of your home – inside and out - for insurance purposes.
  • - Full tank of gas for the car.
  • - Plenty of cash – ATM’s were down due to power outages.
  • - Lots of water for drinking and sponge bathing. Pool water or other water sources can be used for flushing of toilets
  • - Fill tanks on the gas grill to cook food that otherwise would spoil.
  • - Plastic sheeting and tar paper for roof and window damage.
  • - Batteries.
  • - Foods that did not require cooking or refrigeration.
  • - Chainsaw.
  • - Generator.
  • - A plan that includes (1) where in your house you plan to stay during the storm and (2) evacuation times and routes if you have to leave.
    • Clean up:
  • - Due to extensive damage, it was not possible to get anyone to do repairs for months. Many scams were being perpetrated on vulnerable homeowners. Also, tree debris may be around for months because of the huge volume.
  • - Be prepared to immediately rip out wet carpets to prevent mildew and to help dry the home out more quickly.
  • - Be prepared to immediately cover any roof and window damage.

    • Next Meeting is May 13th, 2 PM, POA Conference Room

  • As mentioned above, the May meeting will consist of the Command Center training exercise.
  • Also, remember to sign up for the First Aid Training to be held May 1st, 6:30 PM, in the POA Conference Room. We are very fortunate to have Geri Hudak as a CERT member who is willing to use her professional and practical experiences to develop a first aid class for us.