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CERT Meeting Notes for June 11^th , 2002

Fourteen members attended the meeting, not a bad number considering the number of people out of town.

A few items of interest opened the meeting followed by a viewing and discussion of the video made by Ed Hickox of our members participating in the Universal Studios mock disaster, Hurricane Peggy. I’ve included the complete set of notes that we made pertaining to the tape for those of you who will want to borrow it to view on your own. (Please give Susan Stratton a call, 304-6128, if you’d like to borrow the tape.)

General Opening Items

- Geri Hudak distributed copies of a snakebite signs, symptoms, first aid and prevention article from the Family Practice Notebook.com web site. To view it, go to www.fpnotebook.com/ER6.htm.

- Woody mentioned that in addition to snakes being a problem during flooding, fire ants are a real menace too.

- As part of our transition from numerical zones to alpha zones, Charlie Clark distributed revised copies of the Members by Zone list. A similar copy is posted on our new website and will be combined with Charlie's version, showing the new nomenclature and phone numbers.

- John Stratton has set up a "no frills" website for posting our minutes, forms and checklists, phone tree, links to other related sites, etc. If you need a copy of anything, hopefully you can find it there and simply print it out. Ed Hickox provided the server space, making the address a little funky, but if you mark it as a favorite, the address won't matter. John is open to suggestions for additional material and links. The website is www.umpirescamp.com/cert.htm.

- Gary Apple is fabricating a large, portable, metal tracking board for our Command Center. The board has double doors on the front that open outward to expose a 34" by 45" laminated map of Spruce Creek. The doors are about 4" deep, allowing for storage of markers, magnets, and other useful items. Speaking of useful items, Gary would like any suggestions as to what should be stored in the doors so that he can plan the shelving. If you have suggestions, please drop him an email at gary_apple@msn.com.

- Mike Keemar suggested that an inventory of member's skills would be very valuable to Command Center leaders when dispatching people to various sites. For instance, if someone is/was a nurse, doctor, EMT, mechanic, construction worker, etc., knowing this would make assigning tasks very efficient. Even posting it on a member's hat would be helpful. We started listing member's interests on the roster for possible team assignments, but we will expand the notations to include specific skills. Also, the roster contains some equipment that members have available, but that list needs to be expanded too. We will circulate the Roster at future meetings to get the additional information to make it more useful.

Below is the mock disaster presentation plus a listing of things that were learned by the participants.

Disaster 2002: Hurricane Peggy

Each year the Orlando Fire Department holds a major mock disaster program at Universal Studios where they invite CERT organizations from all over the state to participate. This year, we were fortunate to be able to send 10 members and we plan to send 10 more next year. The members that went this year were selected because of their leadership rolls in the establishment of our CERT organization. Attendees included:

Jack and Carol Beall, Radio Communications Support
David Haggett, Quartermaster
Ed Hickox, CERT Founder and SC Security Director
Geri Hudak, First Aid
Brenda Lear, Radio Support
Les and Ann Lowman, Fire Safety Coordinator
Dave McCarthy, Assistant CERT Director
Susan Stratton, CERT Secretary

Brenda Lear will give an introduction to the exercise and then we'll roll the film. It will be stopped at certain spots for discussion, but it can be stopped anytime for comments.

Introduction: Brenda Lear

• One of the last groups to enter the scene
• Didn't have any idea what to expect
• We planned to organize into teams of 3 with Ed was filming and critiquing
• As you'll see, the scene was very realistic and chaotic with tree branches down and many diversions requiring us to do major adapting

8:15… Team had to improvise to splint, tape, etc. Saw other teams using pool noodles for supporters.

8:18… "Squeaky wheel" not necessarily the worst injury.

8:19…

• Should have rolled her.
• Should have asked them "what is wrong…" If they can communicate, they are yellow.
• Take victim feet first to deal with head.
• Use your legs to lift… these people are very heavy.

8:24… Not enough stretchers. Need binders to hold victims. Backboards would have been good.

8:28… Sue and Carol should have used a blanket or chair carry.

8:33… Head person should do count. Some confusion here.

8:34… Again, should have gone feet first.

• Be ready to be flexible.
• Several people were triaged, but were tagged wrong.
• Realized that a lot of the stuff in the backpack was useless.
• Latex gloves damaged very easily. Powder hands before putting on gloves.
• Radios have to be secured to you (lost one).
• Watch out for the guy who wants to "run everything." However, leadership needs to be established. There was a lot of confusion that could have been prevented or controlled if leaders had been established.
• The victim interview is essential.
• Plastic totes might be a good solution to backpack problem.
• Put gloves on early and powder hands if possible.
• Needed blankets to roll and lift people.
• Cardboard makes good splinting material.
• Don't be afraid to use the "walking wounded" to help.
• Triage is not what you might think it is… we'll show an educational tape next month.

July Meeting Agenda

At the July meeting, plan to see the video Ed made of the triage lecture given at the Universal Studio mock disaster. The lecturer surprised and impressed his audience with his tough, no nonsense approach to triage.

Also, Geri Hudak will present a Spruce Creek Medical Supply Wish List that she has compiled based on her experience and input from Ray Gage, other CERT organizations, Volusia Fire and Rescue, and Internet searches.

There is a good chance that the POA hangar meeting arena will be ready for the next meeting. We will let you know the exact location, as the date gets closer.

Regards, John for Susan Stratton