gaillardia Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Because of the thread on "what are you going to do when the kids have gone...college?" and with Auntie M's response about those in the emergency medical field, it reminded me of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). My dh was asked to take part in it several years ago. It is offered in most county seats on a county government level. They are looking for people who are willing to donate their time and be trained on what to do in case of a variety of emergency situations (where to turn off gas on buildings for instance). The training wasn't in-depth because there was only so much they could cover for it being a free hands-on course. I think it lasted for 3 or 4 Saturdays. They also taught them how to use a fire extinguisher. I was wondering if anyone here has participated in CERT. A couple of years ago we watched on syfy a series called Jericho. It would be nice to think that our communities are full of people who know what to do in emergencies of any kind, but how much do you feel you know to be able to help your family and others if needed? Consider things like living close enough to a any type of industry or a nuclear power plant and having an accident occur and you have to evacuate. Or even living close enough to a heavily traveled road where an accident occurs (hazardous materials again) and you have to evacuate. Are you ready to evacuate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 If there is an emergency I hope that dh is home. He is not only an Rn, he is one of those McGyver kind of guys. Fortunately ds13 seems to have the McGyver gene. Dh has enough emergency medical supplies (splints, bandages etc.) that he could fix up most of our community. Me? I'm good at soothing crying babies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Here in Utah, the cities coordinate CERT training with the wards (congregations) of the LDS church. Each ward has 4-6 members go through CERT training and we know which families we are responsible for in our neighborhood. It's an amazing program and definitely something everyone should look into establishing in their communities. Local medical personnel are of very little use in an emergency, because they will be called to report to hospitals and triage centers. Don't count on the medical personnel in your family to be around.....sometimes for a very long time. We had family living in Florida when Hurricaine Andrew struck. The dad was an MD and spent the next three weeks at the hospital. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Here in Utah, the cities coordinate CERT training with the wards (congregations) of the LDS church. Each ward has 4-6 members go through CERT training and we know which families we are responsible for in our neighborhood. It's an amazing program and definitely something everyone should look into establishing in their communities. Local medical personnel are of very little use in an emergency, because they will be called to report to hospitals and triage centers. Don't count on the medical personnel in your family to be around.....sometimes for a very long time. We had family living in Florida when Hurricaine Andrew struck. The dad was an MD and spent the next three weeks at the hospital. Good point. We had an earthquake a couple of years ago and dh didn't come home for two days. Fortunately I've had lots of experience with earthquakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Good point. We had an earthquake a couple of years ago and dh didn't come home for two days. Fortunately I've had lots of experience with earthquakes. Yeah, we're supposedly overdue for a big one here along the Wasatch Front in Utah. We have tiny ones everyday, but we can't feel most of them. A couple times a year we'll get a rumble or two, but so far, nothing too major. Isn't it interesting how each area of the country has to prepare differently for their particular "disaster suseptibility"? Our preparation here in UT is nothing like what the people in hurricaine country have to do. The thing I hate about earthquakes is that "no warning" factor. *shudder* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 That is very interesting,Diane. And a great idea. Our ward in MD had about ten people participate on the training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I haven't done the training myself. We do have a disaster committee with some members who have completed CERT training on behalf of our Civic Association. We've also had meetings with the Red Cross to work toward turning our clubhouse into an official emergency shelter. (Right now it's kind of informal.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianeW88 Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) That is very interesting,Diane. And a great idea. Our ward in MD had about ten people participate on the training. It makes it so much easier on the city and state government here in Utah, because we're so "LDS dense" :D. The government prefers to work within the stake/ward organizations because it's already done (why re-invent the wheel). In fact, we learned about CERT during a fifth week Sunday school combined class. The city sent their officials to our ward to explain it and how to sign up (of course, the officials were also LDS, so they already knew how we work). Again, with the benefit of living in Utah, we start with our home teaching/visiting teaching. Those are the families we check on first, then we report their status to the HT/VT supervisors, who report to the coordinators and so on until we get to the bishop, who reports to the stake president and then the city. We're also to check on our non-LDS neighbors within our ward parameters who don't have the benefit of ready made fall-out shelters and bishop's storehouses or even food storage. It's really so amazingly well organized it blows me away. I just pray we never have to test it out. :D I imagine, depending on the extent of the disaster, it'll be a lot like the flood in Rexburg when the dam broke years ago. When the feds showed up, there was nothing for them to do. Don't get in the way of the Relief Society. :lol: Edited February 16, 2011 by DianeW88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Oh, crud. Now that I know, I can't not say anything, right? Last year I saw in the paper an announcement that the county gov. was having CERT training. Our Elders Quorum pres. is in the local city gov....hmm. Thanks for the input, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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