CERT Meeting Notes for February 11, 2003

January and February have been very busy times for our CERT group with supporting the EAA Young Eagles Rally, pulling off a complex and successful mock disaster drill, holding a first aid class, and attending an enlightening and informative tour of the SC water treatment facility.

EAA Young Eagles Rally

The Daytona area EAA Chapter 288 (www.eaa288.com), based here in Spruce Creek, periodically holds Young Eagles Rallies where they provide first flights for children from ages 8 through 17 to not only promote an interest in aviation in these youngsters, but to also give them an opportunity for adult contact and goal setting. Many of the children flown are special needs kids, making the rallies even more rewarding. Steve Wood, the Young Eagles Coordinator, has asked that a huge Thank You go out to the CERT people who helped with ground control at the January rally and he extends an invitation to us to again participate on February 22nd. If anyone wants to help Steve and see the delight of these kids as they take their first flights, please plan to attend the EAA meeting in Keith Phillips’ hangar, 222 Cessna Blvd, on February 20th at 7:30 pm, or call Steve at 760-1674. (It’s not tough duty… you just have to wear your CERT vest and radio and keep the little tykes from walking into propellers and such. Free food and drink too.)

CERT Mock Disaster

A very successful mock disaster was designed by Jose Fernandez and executed by 30 CERT members and 4 victims (five counting the Styrofoam guy being rescued in the picture). The text of the drill was handed out to all members and will be placed on the website for future reference.

Some important lessons were learned from the drill, requiring future training and practice:

Communications…

  • Phone tree needs some work. Perhaps a redesign that has people called by Zone.
  • Whoever is "zone leader" should identify themselves to Command by number… CERT Command, this is Zone Alpha Leader, Alpha 123.
  • Zone leaders should give Command a list of CERT members who are participating.
  • Using the "10’s" system to give locations and acknowledgements would be helpful.
  • Always use your full alphanumeric identifier.
  • Command should acknowledge the end of transmissions with field personnel because not all field personnel are hearing both sides of the conversation and they may step on a transmission thinking that the channel is clear.

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    Search and Rescue…

  • Without house identifiers on taxiways, it was very hard to give locations while checking these areas. It was agreed that the topic would be addressed with the new POA board.
  • When encountering a group of victims, remember to tag and treat. The tagging is very helpful to the people who will be coming to assist.
  • If possible, one person should be established as the incident commander at the scene. This commander doesn’t do any work, but simply directs the activities. If enough help is available, one person should be designated as radio person to relieve the commander and first aid personnel.
  • Security should be dispatched to the POA to open up the hangar for access to cribbing and first aid supplies.

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    First Aid…

  • In general, the first aid given the "victims" was good. Geri Hukak noted some areas that needed further training, and she has developed a first aid class that addresses these items. More about this below.
  • There was some confusion as to where the triage and treatment area was located.
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    Miscellaneous…

  • Zone meeting should be held independent of on-going CERT meetings. Knowing our neighbors and neighborhoods its imperative to a successful search and rescue effort.
  • First aid supplies have been placed in the POA hangar, at the front and back gates, and at the Country Club (locker #39; key at front gate).
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    First Aid Class Held

    Geri Hukak held a pilot first aid class Feb 10th. It was an excellent presentation that covered the identification and treatment of soft tissue injuries, internal and external bleeding, and infection control and prevention. Geri supplemented her lecture with visual aids and study questions. The class ran about an hour, including some hands-on practice.

    Geri will be offering this and other classes on an on-going basis. Stay tuned for times and location.

    Spruce Creek Water Treatment Plant Tour

    Points of interest to CERT members…

  • The water treatment plant is a VERY DANGEROUS place.

    • o Large, high-pressure pumps in operation

    o Abundant slipping and tripping hazards

    o Hazardous chemicals in the storage area and in the water filtering room…

    § Chlorine gas tanks. This chlorine is deadly when inhaled. Stay upwind of any green clouds.

    § Strong alkalizes. Sodium hydroxide attacks the skin. If not treated in a timely fashion with a vinegar, this material will eat the skin away, causing a very hard to treat wound.

    § Acids. Commercial strength hydrochloric and sulfuric acid. Obvious burning potential if not diluted quickly with water.
  • The treatment plant is staffed 24/7 and it monitored by telemetry to a county base station.
  • The facility is equipped with hurricane shutters and backup generators.
  • If CERT is the first responder to an incident at the facility, the following safety precautions must be considered:

    • o Any clear liquid should be considered a hazardous material.

    o Do not under any circumstances enter a green gaseous cloud, even if a victim is down in the cloud. Go immediately upwind of the cloud.

    o Slipping and tripping could cause more injuries than the damage incident. Exercise extreme caution while walking around the premises.

    o Water hoses are available at the front and back of the building. Remember the old adage: "Dilution is the solution to pollution."

  • The water treatment staff is expertly trained and equipped to handle most situations. Also, the telemetry system will dispatch more assistance from the county.
  • The facility has an extensive hurricane preparedness plan that is interfaced with the Volusia County EOC.

    • Short Meeting After the Plant Tour
  • A suggestion was made that we hold a drill where the bulk of the members stay at the Command Center while a few go out into the community and radio back to the center. This would allow more people to understand and train for Command Center operations.
  • Dave McCarthy has agreed to take a look at the call list format.
  • Octoberfest proceeds have been donated to SC to buy a defibrillator. Interested CERT members will be offered training in its usage.
  • Wings and Wheels will be March 15th…

    • o CERT will be given a booth and tent to show off our stuff. Volunteers will be needed to man the display and hand out literature. Perhaps we can set up our Styrofoam victim on a stretcher and apply whatever to him. Any other suggestions?

    o Dave McCarty is the ground manager for W&W this year. He would very much like to have CERT members help him with parking, crowd control, assisting handicapped individuals, and running a general golf cart shuttle service from the car parking area to the tree. Many CERT members will be working other facets of the operation, so CERT spouses or friends are welcome to don a borrowed CERT vest and hat and help out. Please pass the word around. Free refreshments. Rotating assignments. Please contact Dave at 235-3988.
  • At the March 11th meeting we will go over the CERT Training Final Exam. This should be a fun exercise because it will show us how much we’ve forgotten over the past year. SC Security Office Walter Melton is trying to get a Volusia County CERT instructor to lead the discussion.

    If anyone needs a copy of the exam, please drop me a note at sprucecreek@netzero.net or call me at 304-6128.
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    I’m done. Whew!

    Regards, Susan