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DEL.ICIO.USAre you prepared to help if terror strikes Gwinnett?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Do you know how to help people if disaster strikes?
If you want to learn, then I have good news for you. The Gwinnett Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is registering people for their next classes in October.
CERT is part of the Citizen Corps which President Bush initiated after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
I graduated from the Gwinnett CERT program in May and I recommend it to everyone who lives or works in the county.
In addition to making new friends, I learned how to offer real help in crisis situations until first responders arrive and I learned how to cooperate with those first responders after they show up.
CERT participants learned how to quickly size up an emergency situation, identify and triage the injured and sick, provide basic first aid, as well as how to relate to victims without becoming emotionally distraught.
We also learned how to do light search and rescue work in buildings, how to extinguish small fires, and how to contain gas and water leaks that could cause explosions or flooding.
Most important: We practiced how to effectively communicate under difficult circumstances and share information with CERT team members, first responders, victims and their families.
We also learned how to “think outside of the box” to prevent blood-borne diseases, make splints and bandages, help excavate trapped victims and transport them when standard first-aid supplies are not available.
For example, plastic grocery bags can be used as a barrier when gloves are not available. Splints can be made out of magazines and tape. Loose boards can be turned into levers to pry up debris around embedded victims and may also be used as a means to transport victims.
CERT training consists of 20 hours of classroom training. Active participation is required. CERTs learn through reading, videos, classroom discussion as well as exercises and drills.
Before graduating all candidates for CERT basic certification must participate in mock disaster exercises, which are held a couple of weeks after regular CERT classes are completed at the Gwinnett Fire College.
Upon graduating, you earn a certificate of completion, your official CERT identification, and you become part of a group of caring and dedicated citizens who are ready and able to respond to crisis situations at home, school, on the job, and anywhere else a crisis may occur.
As a CERT graduate you also have the opportunity to participate in additional training, help instruct new CERT students, and to assume leadership within the CERT organization.
For more information about Gwinnett CERT you can email CERT at info@gwinnettcert.org or call 770-513-5830.
The next CERT classes are Oct. 10-Nov. 28 and Dec. 2. For more information and to sign up online go to: www.gwinnettcert.org
Will you contact Gwinnett CERT to learn how to offer assistance during an emergency? Are you prepared to help if terror strikes Gwinnett?
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Beni Dakar
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By Johnnie
July 25, 2006 12:41 PM | Link to this
This sounds like something that EVERYONE should be interested in.
By LB
July 25, 2006 01:29 PM | Link to this
I agree. This is a class everyone should consider. The things you pointed out are (common sense) approaches that we all think about. Unfortunately, during a disaster people lose track of common sense and start doing things differently. This class will be a big confidence booster to go along with what most people already do naturally and will help people to stay focused. Thanks for the info.
By Woody Bass
July 25, 2006 02:22 PM | Link to this
You know Beni… I am seriously considering taking this class. Two reasons:
A) Its important to know these skills +
B) Im betting it would look mighty good on a resume to a company if someone knew how to handle themselves should/when a situation where a disaster can/will occur.
By jaison
July 25, 2006 02:26 PM | Link to this
Well, yes. I in gwinnet am ready for terror. I own a gun. If i see someone out of place with some sort of device…guess what…he’s going to get shot. anywhere along this road in duluth my neighboors have guns. We’re pretty safe here. and Beni, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but plastic bags provide NO protection against any agent they would use on us. Another point to make is that the CDC is actually located here, and they would be at an advantage timewise for the recovery effort. Not to mention ATLANTA cops DO NOT PLAY AROUND , in my honest opinion New Yorks finest have NOTHING on Atlanta’s finest. I sleep very soundly in my bed knowing those angry, corn-fed beasts are guarding the peace.
By Beni Dakar
July 25, 2006 04:36 PM | Link to this
Gwinnett CERT has a general meeting on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. www.gwinnettcert.org
Here are the Gwinnett CERT meeting details:
What: CERT Meeting Where: Gwinnett Justice Administration Center (GJAC) Location: 75 Langley Drive, Lawrenceville When: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 Time: Sign in: 6:30 p.m.-7:00 p.m.; meeting is from 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Hope to see YOU there!
Beni
By test
July 28, 2006 04:02 PM | Link to this
Test
By Mike Mester, Gwinnett CERT -- Assistant Program Director
July 28, 2006 05:08 PM | Link to this
As Americans, the Second Amendment of The United States Constitution provides us the right to “Keep and Bear Arms”. Though we are also a Nation of Laws…if we observe someone out of place with some sort of “device” it does not give on the right to exert deadly force with small arms fire. This is a matter for Law Enforcement agencies like Atlanta PD and exactly why we have an emergency service number of 911.
Beni’s article did not state plastic bags would be an effective protective measure against any category of NBC nuclear/biological/chemicals* disbursement. What she noted is the use of plastic bags as a “field expedient” method against Bloodborne Pathogens
Bloodborne; meaning “of a disease or pathogen, carried by blood”. Therefore, an agent disbursed from a “device” would not be categorized as a bloodborne pathogen.
One can learn more about the subject under OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration
As for the CDC Centers for Disease Control, there are several locations throughout the Metro Atlanta. The CDC is considered a “high value” target for terrorism by default due to the research conducted.
Local agencies are ultimately responsible for disaster preparedness and response. Believing the Federal Government will be there to “bail citizens out” in a timely fashion is simply a recipe for disaster…The first 72 hours of a crisis are the most important times for a community to be prepared until local, state, and federal emergency response operations can begin to help those residents in need *as outlined by FEMA *Federal Emergency Management Agency.
I also suggest reviewing the AAR After Action Review of “What went wrong at Graniteville” chlorine rail disaster in Aiken County SC, January of 2005 To quote a portion of the AAR…”Civillians were mostly on their own when it came to evacuating.
There were true accounts of heroism and good “Samaritans”.
Gwinnett County Emergency Management Agency EMA and the Gwinnett County Director of Homeland Security recognize the need for trained/organized volunteers such as CERT Community Emergency Response Teams. These organizations can augment response efforts when agencies are overwhelmed.
Mike Mester Gwinnett CERT Assistant Program Director