Category: Blog

About CaliforniaVolunteers

CaliforniaVolunteers is the State Administrator for the CERT program in California.  As the State Administrator, our responsibilities are to provide technical support and guidance for local CERT programs as well as vetting CERT Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager Course deliveries and instructors.  We also provide training, conferences, workshops, and other support as funding and time permits.  Suu-Va Tai at CaliforniaVolunteers is designated as the State Administrator for Citizen Corps and CERT.  You can reach Suu-Va at suu-va.tai@cv.ca.gov, or suuva.tai@caloes.ca.gov, or 916-524-3964.  Please do not give this information to your volunteers.  It is strictly for the CERT Program Managers and/or Sponsoring Agency point of contacts and other CERT leadership as needed.

Rebuilding the California CERT contact list

In an effort to strengthen the communication between the State and local CERT programs, we have created a survey to capture CERT Program Contact Information.  Please take 2 minutes to complete this survey.  The survey will ask for the contact information for the CERT program in general, the program manager, the sponsoring agency main point of contact, and up to 3 additional people from your program that you wish to be added to our contact list.  These additional people can be other paid staff for the program or sponsoring agency, instructors, or volunteers with leadership roles.  You can find the survey here:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CACERTContactList.  Please take the time to complete this survey whether or not you are already getting emails from our office.  In the future, we will be using this survey and the CERT registration website to populate our emails.  If you are not on either of those lists, you will likely not get emails from our office regarding CERT in California and Nationally.

New CERT Website Launch

FEMA launched the new CERT website mid-August, 2018.  With this new website, CERT programs will need to re-register their CERT program.  FEMA imported existing CERT program data into the new website to help facilitate this.  Many CERT programs received an email to re-register.  You can also go to the website directly at https://community.fema.gov/Register/.

At this time, FEMA has identified several issues with the website including:

• Resetting/retrieving login passwords
• Creating a new user for an existing program
• State Administrators having proper permissions to edit and approve registrations

Please be patient as we work with FEMA to resolve these issues.  If you have had issues with the website please send me a quick email to suuva.tai@caloes.ca.gov along with the type of issue you are having.  I will capture it and get back to you once there is a fix.

CERT Curriculum Update

FEMA is still in the process of finalizing the CERT Curriculum Update and should be releasing it soon.  Here is some general information and guidance regarding the curriculum update:

• When the new materials are released, there will be a delay in getting the new printed materials.  FEMA will not print the new manuals until it is finalized, and will prefer to release the new materials as soon as possible rather than wait to allow time for printing.
• When the new materials are released you can download and teach to the new materials right away while handing out the old manuals if you have them in stock.  You can also teach using the old manuals and Power Point Slides until you receive the new materials
• The new curriculum will keep most of the existing materials but will have updates based on new standards and best practices
• There will be Spanish versions of the new materials but these may not be released at the same time
• There will be new CERT Train-the-Trainer and CERT Program Manager materials developed to correspond with the new CERT Basic Curriculum.  These will likely not be released until sometime after the CERT Basic curriculum release
• FEMA has created a crosswalk of the changes between the old and new curriculums.  These will be shared with CERT program managers to help prep their instructors

Current estimates from FEMA are that the new curriculum is very close to release.  I am now crossing my fingers that it will be before the end of 2018.

2018 National CERT Conference in Florida

Florida hosted the 2018 National Conference recently on August 22-25 in Naples, FL.  Over 400 people attended the conference from over 25 States throughout the US.  There were even attendees from Canada and Puerto Rico.  Over 20 people were able to attend from California.

2019 CERT Conference in California

Due to the success of the National CERT Conference in Florida, many states are now interested in hosting a National CERT Conference.  Missouri has been approved to host the National CERT Conference in 2020 and Mississippi and Ohio have both expressed interest for 2021 and 2022 respectively.  To facilitate this, a National CERT Conference Committee has been formed to vet and approve National CERT Conference submissions as well as to support the host state in the planning efforts.

There is currently a void in 2019 for CERT Conferences. Therefore, CaliforniaVolunteers, in partnership with CERT programs throughout CA, will hold one.  Working with many CERT programs in California, we spent the last few weeks looking at potential conference sites throughout the state.  Based on date, price, and location we are happy to announce that the 2019 CERT Conference will be held at:

The Paradise Point Hotel and Spa in San Diego, CA, May 30 through June 1, 2019 with pre-conference training held May 27-May 29, 2019.  The hotel is located at:  1404 Vacation Road San Diego, CA 92109

Here is the hotel link:  https://www.destinationhotels.com/paradise-point

We have negotiated a fantastic rate of $140/night with tourism fees waived.  Daily parking at the hotel is free and overnight parking is reduced 50% to $19 per night.  The hotel is right in the bay and many rooms are literally a few feet from the beach.  The hotel will honor the conference rate starting Sunday, May 26 for participants coming in for pre-conference training through Monday, June 3, 2019 for those that want to stay in San Diego for the weekend.  The hotel has roughly 270 rooms/night at this available rate but they are all first come first serve (and available to the public as we are only holding 150 on the busy nights as part of the contract) so book early.  You can always cancel if you do not make it to the conference (1-week notice).

We are still in the initial planning phase of the conference and more details (including registration) will be revealed soon.  The hotel is currently setting up the group rate so please give them another week or two before calling to reserve your rooms.

If you would like to be on the emailing list for conference, updates please complete a short survey to enter your contact information at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019CERTCoferenceList

Currently over 30 people/CERT Programs have expressed interest to help with the planning efforts for the conference.  If your CERT program is interested in helping with the planning or execution of the CERT conference, please contact me at suuva.tai@caloes.ca.gov and let me know how you want to help.  Examples can be (by You, I mean you or someone at your program):

• You have funding you want to direct toward the conference
• You have relationships with potential sponsors and/or vendors
• You have a print shop and can do printing
• You are good at social media and want to help with promoting the conference
• You are good at website design and want to help develop the conference website
• You are good at graphics work and want to help with creating/editing artwork for the conference
• You have access to a free or discounted venue that can host the conference

CERT Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager Course schedule

CaliforniaVolunteers received some training funds from Cal OES and will be sponsoring several CERT Train-the-Trainer and/or Program Manager Courses in the following jurisdictions. Below is the list of the training with dates and as a point of contact to email if you are interested:

• 11/2 to 11/3 – CERT Program Manager Course in Kern County, email Jeannie Taylor atjetaylor@kerncountyfire.org
• 11/26 to 11/27 – CERT Program Manager Course in San Luis Obispo County, email Lonny Rollins at lonny@therollins.family
• 11/28 to 11/30 – CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in San Luis Obispo County, email Lonny Rollins atlonny@therollins.family
• 11/28 to 11/29 – CERT Program Manager Course in Fresno County, email Chad Fitzgerald atChadF@ci.clovis.ca.us
• 11/30 to 12/2 – CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Fresno County, email Chad Fitzgerald atChadF@ci.clovis.ca.us
• 11/30 – 12/2 – Spanish CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Alameda County (at Chabot College), email Liliana Encinas at lilianaencinas@gmail.com
• 12/5 to 12/6 – CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Sacramento County, email Robert Ross atrobr@sfdcert.org
• 12/7 to 12/9 – CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Sacramento County, email Robert Ross atrobr@sfdcert.org
• 12/11 – 12/13 – CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Del Norte County, email Cindy Henderson atchenderson@co.del-norte.ca.us
• 12/14 – 12/16 – Spanish CERT Train-the-Trainer Course in Los Angeles County (at City of Ontario EOC, on the border of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties), email Zuzzette Bricker at zuzzetteb@moval.org

In addition, the follow CERT Train-the-trainer courses will be delivered by a local jurisdiction:

• TBD – CERT Train-the-Trainer course in Los Angeles County (Antelope Valley) hosted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.  Email Lonnie Smith at llsmith@lasd.org for more info.
• 12/3 to 12/5 – CERT Train-the-Trainer course in Orange County (Costa Mesa) hosted by Costa Mesa City.  Email Brenda Emrick at BRENDA.EMRICK@costamesaca.gov for more info.
• January 2019 – CERT Train-the-Trainer course in Contra Costa County hosted by the San Ramon Valley Fire Department.  Email Danielle Bell at DBell@srvfire.ca.gov for more info.

G288 and G489 Course Deliveries

As you may know, California is the lead agency in California for Volunteer and Donations Management during a Disaster.  Two core trainings for managing volunteer and donations during disasters include the G288 Volunteer and Donations Management and G489 Management of Spontaneous Volunteers during a disaster courses.  CaliforniaVolunteers has received training funds from Cal OES and will be conducting these courses as a combined 2-day course in the following counties:

• 11/13 – 11/14 in Santa Barbara County, email Jeff Gater at jgater@sbcoem.org
• 11/28 to 11/29 in Orange County, email Keven McArthur at kmcarthur@ocsd.org
• 12/3 – 12/4 in Santa Clara County, email Darrell Ray at Darrell.Ray@oes.sccgov.org
• 12/11 to 12/12 in Blue Lake, email Anita Huff at AHuff@bluelakerancheria-nsn.gov
• 12/19 to 12/20 in Inyo, email Kelley Williams at kwilliams@inyocounty.us

CERT Workshop – CERT and 501(c)(3)

Earlier this year we held a CERT workshop on disaster response.  CaliforniaVolunteers is currently planning some workshops around CERT and 501(c)(3) where we will discuss current best practices.  These will be scheduled early in 2019.  If your program has a 501(c)(3) and you consider yourself a subject matter expert please let me know.  FEMA may also hold a nation webinar on CERT and 501(c)(3) and we will be looking for presenters for this webinar.

Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program

Anita Chant, who has been the Program Manager for the Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program for many years, is retiring on November 2, 2018.  Don Glueckert at Cal OES will be taking over the program.  You can reach Don at Donald.Glueckert@CalOES.ca.gov.  The DSW Volunteer program will also be moving from the Preparedness Branch over to the Human Resources.  If you are interested in sending Anita a card, you can send it to:

Ca Office of Emergency Services

Attn:  Anita Chant – Preparedness Branch

3650 Schriever Avenue

Mather, CA 95655

There will be people at OES who will make sure Anita gets the cards even if they arrive after her retirement.

Sigma

CaliforniaVolunteers has recently started working with a company called Sigma. Sigma is a free platform for organizations to track the qualifications and achievements of their members. CERT programs can use this as a free platform to track volunteer activity such as training, events, and deployments. We will test this system by using it to track CERT Train-the-Trainer and Program Manger participants over the next few months. If you are taking one of these classes, you will receive a Sigma “Merit” from our office showing that you have taken these classes. If this system works well we may retroactively insert past course participants into this system.

If you are interested in learning more about Sigma or using it for your CERT program, you can visitwww.sig.ma, or email Taylor Robinson at taylor@sig.ma.

CERT App

Lockheed Martin, a global security and aerospace company, recently offered to build a free App for CERT programs to use.  They are committed to getting this app ready to launch (likely in beta format) at the CERT conference in May 2019.  FEMA has approved this project and has designated our office to be the lead on this project.  I will be gathering a group of CERT SMEs throughout the US to help give input on what this app should be and do to be useful for CERT.  This app will be open source and free and will not include the name Lockheed Martin.  It will also not include CERT or FEMA as FEMA is not paying or entering into a contract with Lockheed for this app.  This also means the app can be designed to benefit other volunteer groups such as Fire Corps or VOAD groups and what not.  If you would like to be part of the initial discussions (likely a few conference calls to brainstorm), please complete this survey.  If you think you are an IT savvy and want to be part of this effort beyond the initial brainstorming please note it on the survey.  Please note that while the brain storming calls should be able to include anyone, I will have to limit the participants for the actual project, especially since I have to include people outside CA.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AppforCERT

Bay Area CERT Coalition

Several CERT programs in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area have joined to form a Bay Area CERT Coalition.  This group meetings quarter to share information, discuss how they can work together, and share information, training, and resources.  If you are interested in learning or want to join, please contact Maggie Lang at coordinator@marincountycert.org.

Los Angeles County CERT Council

The Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management is working with LA County CERT programs to create a LA County CERT Council.  If your program is in LA County and you would like to join this council or learn more, please email Chris Foster at chfoster@ph.lacounty.gov for more information.

You are the Help Until Help Arrives Training

FEMA released a new 3-hour training called You are the Help Until Help Arrives last year.  This class focuses on teaching participants 5 key steps that can save a life during an emergency:

• Call 9-1-1
• Stay Safe
• Stop the Bleeding
• Position the Injured
• Provide Comfort

You can download the training materials here:  https://community.fema.gov/until-help-arrives.  This class was delivered at the National CERT Conference in Florida and had great reviews.

Prep Talks

In 2018, FEMA started a series of videos called Preptalks.  Basically Ted talks except the subject is always preparedness/emergency management related.  You can view the list of Preptalks here:  https://www.fema.gov/preptalks

Things you should already know but in case you didn’t

• The FEMA website is www.ready.gov/CERT.  The FEMA website has all the training materials and videos available for download.  This includes advanced modules as well as information on reducing liability, working with Schools and Private Sector, and other great resources
• You can request CERT manuals and other training materials free from FEMA.  You will need to be a registered program and the request should come from the contact person listed on the registration.  Requests take 4-6 weeks for fulfillment.  It is a good practice to email FEMA 2-3 weeks after submitting a request to get a status update and to make sure they received your request.  Here is the link for FEMA publications:  https://www.ready.gov/publications.  On this page, you will see links to two order forms.  The Individual and Community Preparedness form will have CERT related documents.  The Ready Materials form is for general preparedness materials.
• FEMA has a catalogue of CERT related webinars that they have conducted in the past.  You can find these webinars here:  https://www.ready.gov/webinars.  This is very useful for newer CERT program managers as well as for long time program managers that did not get a chance to be on these webinars.
• If you missed the CERT Disaster Workshop in April, 2017, you can view parts of it here: https://icpd.adobeconnect.com/p5r7o0e03wrw/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal.  This recording includes an update from FEMA as well as a presentation by Anita Chant on the Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program (which starts at around the 48-minute mark).
• If you need a copy of the CERT logo in hi res vector format (or regular JPG) please send me an email at suuva.tai@caloes.ca.gov.  We used to have this up on the CaliforniaVolunteers website but we migrated servers recently and have not restored those pages yet.  You used to be able to get it from the FEMA CERT website after logging in but I do not see that available on the new website yet.

by Davina Witts

The October county-wide combined CERT and amateur radio drill at Moffat field was a great experience. The focus for CERT was search, damage assessment, triage, first aid and incident command. The ham folks – Amateur Radio Emergency Services/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (ARES/RACES) – practiced emergency communications.

Six separate Incident Command Posts (ICPs) were set up, each matched with an ARES/RACES team. This allowed the CERT participants to complete the 3-hour exercise in small groups of about 10 people to each Incident Command (IC)—enabling a lot of hands on experience and really good learning. I was assigned as a mentor to IC Bravo. Our simulated neighborhood consisted of a floor inside a derelict building. The CERT participants first split into two groups of about 5 each. One group searched the neighborhood, conducted triage, rescue and first aid while communicating via radio to the ICP. The ICP recorded the location of the team, noted building conditions, injuries and so on; and then communicated the relevant information to the ARES/RACES team, who in turn communicated with the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). Then, after about 90 minutes, the groups swapped over.

The 3 key take aways for me are:

• Record keeping and communication are critical: However good we are at things like search and first aid, if we don’t have systems in place for recording what we do and the skill to communicate this to EOC, then our effectiveness will be significantly compromised. Our basic CERT training offered very little on incident command and so I suspect that most of us need more experience in this area. With this in mind, I really encourage you to sign up for the refresher on Communication and Documentation that Santa Clara County Fire Department are running at the Saratoga Prospect Center on December 5: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cert-refresher-8-communication-documentation-tickets-47540756683
• The firefighters of Santa Clara County Fire Department are an amazing bunch of people who genuinely value CERT and ARES/RACES: At least a dozen SCCFD staff and firefighters were involved in the drill. And a core team of CERT (including Brent Hailpern, Jeff Walker, and Craig Pietrow from Saratoga CERT) and fire department folks had taken months to prepare for it. This represents a very substantial investment by the County—something that they wouldn’t do unless they thought CERT and ARES/RACES were worthwhile—so it’s up to us to live up to their belief in us by taking advantage of the training opportunities that they provide! So, I’m setting myself a target of going to at least 3 refresher/training opportunities each year.
• Don’t be afraid to step up and volunteer because support will be there when you need it: I had not attended a drill like this before so, when I signed up to volunteer, I imagined that I would be doing a bit of fetching and carrying, setup and so on. So, it was something of a shock to get an email from the organizer thanking me for signing up as a mentor. And even more of a shock on the day when I realized that I had inadvertently put my hand up to mentor an ICP! But all was well as I asked for help and one of the firefighters was assigned as my partner. This gave me a fantastic opportunity to not only learn about the IC from an expert but also to be able to learn some of the skills that will hopefully make me an effective mentor in the future.

Hello CERT colleagues throughout the County. I’m writing to ask you to invite your CERT community to attend Campbell CERT’s 2^nd annual fundraising event: a Taste of Campbell. The event this year will include wine tasting, beer tasting, food from local restaurants, and live music. It will feature raffle prizes, a silent auction, and wine sales (below retail). Participating wineries include Tessora’s Barra di Vino, Testarossa, Katherine Kennedy, and more.

The Taste of Campbell event will be held on Saturday, November 3, from 3:00 to 6:00 pm at the Orchard City Banquet Hall, Campbell Community Center, 1 West Campbell Avenue, Campbell CA. All proceeds from this event help to pay for emergency supplies, equipment, and training in support of our community. Campbell CERT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Tickets are sold only in advance; see Taste of Campbell Tickets. Tickets cost $38 now, or $45 after 10/26.

I will be working, not tasting, that day but I hope to see some CERT colleagues at the event.

Steven Teeter

Campbell CERT Program Manager

Santa Clara County is looking for sixty victim volunteers for our annual CERT exercise and if you have students that would like to participate we would love to have them.  We could provide a letter showing their volunteer time if you encourage community participation.  Or if you have something else in place and we maybe able to participate let me know.

Below is some information about what we would like the victims to do.

Please help us create an excellent exercise for our Santa Clara County CERT members as Victim Volunteers.

Exercise scope: The CERT teams from across Santa Clara County will meet on Oct 27th at Moffett Field for a joint exercise. Any CERT who is a member of one of the Santa Clara County CERT organizations.

During the exercise, CERTs will:

*   Practice responding to a major earthquake with extensive damage, injuries, and fatalities
*   Practice search & rescue
*   Practice triage and medical treatment
*   Practice setting up an incident command post and using radios for communication.

What you will do: Victim volunteers really make the exercise.  You will be given scenarios and placed in the old barracks for the CERT teams to find you TRIAGE and treat you based upon your scenario. You are encouraged to get into the roles as much as you wish. After you check in you will be given your scenarios and assignments.

When: There are two sessions and you may select either session or participate in both sessions. First session starts at 8:00am and the second starts at 11:50am both last about three hours.

What to bring: You will need to be at least 18 years old to gain access to the Federal site and will need to complete a waiver at check-in. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Dress appropriatley for the weather, long pants, closed toe shoes and long sleeve shirt is recommended, prepare to get a little dirty, Identification is needed to get through the security gates at the base.

Eventbrite registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/santa-clara-county-cert-exercisevictims-oct-27-2018-moffett-field-tickets-50756210191

City of Saratoga Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Cox CERT Division

Meeting Minutes

Meeting held: Wednesday, 26 September 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:20 p.m. at the home of Lori Stafford.

Saratoga CERT meeting attendees:

1. Tom Baker
2. Kevin Marques (future CERT Academy graduate)
3. Peter Melhus
4. Chuck Rader
5. Brad Silveria
6. Lori Stafford
7. Lyle Topham

Discussion items:

• The attendees recognized the coordination and liaison work done by Reshu Jain as interim Division Lead for the Cox CERT Division, and thanked her for her contributions to strengthening the operations and administration of the division.

• Divisional leadership assignments and responsibilities were further discussed. A motion was offered to appoint Chuck Rader as the incoming Division Lead, and a hand vote was taken which formalized this appointment. Tom Baker was reaffirmed as the division’s Logistics Lead, and Lori Stafford was reaffirmed as the division’s Medical Lead. The group agreed to consider candidates for appointment as the Division Assistant Lead, with a vote planned for the next divisional meeting.

• A detailed review of all upcoming CERT-related training and exercises was conducted. See the attached chronological listing of events. Flyers defining the dates and locations of CY-2019 Santa Clara County Fire Department CERT Academy training sessions and CY-2019 CERT Refresher classes are now available and are also attached to these meeting minutes.

• Handheld FRS radios should soon become available for all currently- registered active Saratoga CERT members, as well as for all new Saratoga CERT Academy graduates. Once these radios are provided, it was decided:

1. to make use of and leverage previous training and radio exercise

procedures generated by Morris Jones and other Saratoga HAM/ARES/

RACES members

1. conduct preliminary radio circuit checks to determine line of sight ranges of transmission/receipt within the Cox Division area of responsibility and exercise communications net discipline
2. plan and execute a comprehensive divisional field training exercise, which combines anticipated CERT disaster responsibilities with use of the FRS radio links between individual CERT members, to the divisional local command post, and via HAM radio link from the local command post to the City of Saratoga Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

• A review of recommended equipment for individual CERT member’s “go-bag” backpacks was conducted. This was discussed in conjunction with the “rebalancing” of emergency supplies between the various City of Saratoga emergency supply caches at the various staging locations.

ACTION ITEMS TO COMPLETE BEFORE NEXT DIVISIONAL MEETING:

• Distribution of flyers for the Thursday, 08 November 2018, PG&E community presentation entitled, “Responding to Gas and Electric Emergencies.” Cox CERT Division team members as needed.

• Give thought to potential candidates for Division Assistant Lead. All members.

• Upon availability, pick up FRS radios from the City of Saratoga Risk Manager’s office. All members.

NEXT COX CERT DIVISIONAL MEETING:

Wednesday, 14 November 2018, from 6:00 p.m. to approximately 7:30 p.m.

location: Lori Stafford’s house

It is anticipated that this meeting will focus on the planning for a division-

wide field training exercise, which will practice simulated activation

procedures and CERT post-disaster responsibilities (i.e., standing up of a local

command post, neighborhood damage assessment, victim extraction

procedures, emergency first aid/triage, disaster documentation, and FRS/HAM

radio procedures and usage).

Santa Clara CERT Continuing Education Series:

CERT Severe Storm Operations

Winter is coming! CERTs have an important role to play in the wake of many types of emergencies.  Nationwide, probably the most frequent type of disaster response for CERTs is in the wake of a severe storm. As you read this, there are almost certainly CERTs doing operations in relation to Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas.  Working in this type of environment has some significant challenges and safety considerations.  This class will help to make your operations more safe and efficient.

Topics will include:

• General storm safety awareness
• Do’s and Don’ts before, during, and after your response
• CERT’s role in a disaster
• Austere medicine in this type of environment

This class is part of a series of continuing education training for CERT Members.  These classes are designed to be a refresher for basic CERT knowledge, allow us to get further in depth on important subjects, and also to provide training on pertinent subjects which are not covered in the basic CERT class.  This class is offered free to CERT members.

The same class is offered on two different dates to accommodate different schedules.  When registering just select one of the two dates.

Dates:

• Wednesday, October 3^th, 2018, 6pm-9pm
• Saturday October 6^th 2018, 9am-12pm

The same 3hr class will be offered on both days so either date can be attended.

Location:

Santa Clara Fire Department Training Center

1900 Walsh Ave

Santa Clara, CA, 95050

Cost:

Did I mention it is free? Who can resist free?

Registration:

The class is free but seating is limited so we ask that you register in advance.  Registration is through Eventbrite at the following link:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cert-continuing-education-storm-response-operations-tickets-50249944938

Contact:

Jon Boucher

Engineer/Paramedic
Santa Clara Fire Department
777 Benton Street | Santa Clara, CA 95050

jboucher@santaclaraca.gov  |  www.santaclaraca.gov

All Mid-level Management Federal/State/Local/Tribal/Private Sector & Nongovernmental personnel to include should take ICS-300, including:  Persons serving as command staff, section chiefs, strike team leaders, task force leaders, unit leaders, division/group supervisors, branch directors, and multi-agency coordination system/emergency operations center staff.*

Course available at https://www.bauasitep.org/?p=courselist&q=available

(10/16/2018-10/18/2018) Incident Command System 300 (MGT-904)
781 Neeson Road, Marina, CA 93933

ICS 300 Fact sheet: https://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ics_300_fs.pdf

Attendees:  Peter Commandeur, Jessica Fullmer, Zach North, Bill Church, and Maggie Church.

Blossom Festival –

Table items. Give list to Michael Taylor.

Car show –

June 22, 2018. Shifts available, contact Jessica.

Quito/West Valley Member Roles

Raji Lukkoor and Jessica Fullmer – Co-Leaders

Zach North – Logistics Coordinator

Campbell Program –

Orientation is given to new CERT’s. We like this idea. Bring up

to big CERT group. They also have medical bags for

neighborhoods and have a Commercial Radio license so each

CERT person has a radio. We should look at their program.

New Budget –

Any ideas get them to Michael Taylor. We would like to see

some more foldable stretchers, maybe some medical bags like

Campbell program. Need more colored Triage labels.

Medical items –

Jessica will obtain Excel spreadsheet from Campbell for items

that are in their bags. Maggie will review.

Activation –

All members to sign up for SCC Alert. Also obtain DSW card.

Communicaton –

How do people want to receive information?

1. Email, 2^ndText, 3^rdPhone

Would like to develop our process.

Do we use FRS or GMS , Use Channel 11

Future Meeting Topics –

• Go Bags
• Map of Neighborhood – familiarize ourselves with neighborhood
• Radio practice
• Neighborhood drill – street check-ups.

How often shall our division meet?

Every 2 months

Time 6:00 – 7:30pm

Thursdays

Next Meeting September 20, 2018

Topic:  Go Bags

Everyone bring what you have and we’ll compare to CERT list of recommended items.

Respectfully,

Maggie Church

City of Saratoga Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Cox CERT Division

Meeting Minutes

Meeting held: Wednesday, 15 August 2018 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:05 p.m. at the home

of Lori Stafford

Saratoga CERT meeting attendees:

1. Tom Baker
2. Uma Challa
3. Peter Melhus
4. Peter Pranys
5. Chuck Rader
6. Brad Silveria
7. Lori Stafford
8. Lyle Topham

Discussion items:

• Michael Taylor, the City of Saratoga Risk/Emergency Preparedness Manager, is currently working on two documents of interest to Saratoga CERT members. These are the City of Saratoga Emergency Response Plan (ERP) plus annexes, and a CERT Concept of Operations (CONOPS) document for Saratoga CERT volunteers. Due dates for these documents are as follows:
• Draft #1: due 15 September 2018
• Draft #2: due 01 November 2018
• Final draft: due 21 December 2018
• Brad Silveria and Chuck Rader, at a 26 July 2018 meeting with Michael Taylor, requested that they be part of the review process for these documents. It was agreed in the 26 July meeting that a Cox CERT Division-specific Emergency Response Plan, which would be tailored and targeted for the Cox Division’s area of responsibility, should wait until completion and approval of these two City of Saratoga documents.

• The Cox CERT Division currently has 13 active members to cover an area that comprises approximately 700 residences. Neighborhoods of particular concern, due to a lack of representation, are the northwestern portion of Blue Hills/Blossom View, the southern portion of Brookview, and all of Saratoga Woods. It was agreed that recruiting initiatives for volunteers who live within the boundaries of the Cox CERT Division are crucial to have adequate manpower within the area to address a major disaster/community emergency.

Ideas proposed and discussed for attempting to recruit additional members included:

• Leverage the Neighborhood Watch teams in the area. Discuss CERT at Neighborhood Watch meetings…these are people in the community who have displayed a level of civic involvement that may be persuaded to take the step of participating in the CERT program.
• Conduct community emergency preparedness sessions for residents who live within the Cox CERT Division area of responsibility. These could include a PG&E community affairs presentation on utilities status during a major earthquake (i.e., downed power lines, gas line ruptures, how to turn off the gas line at your residence, etc.), and a disaster first aid training presentation conducted by the American Red Cross. At these sessions, home emergency preparedness checklists could be distributed and volunteers for the Saratoga CERT program could be solicited. Sessions to be potentially conducted at the City of Saratoga Prospect Center auditorium, pending approval for use of this facility for community CERT activities.
• Address local PTA meetings or open house gatherings at Blue Hills and Christa McAuliffe Elementary Schools, to engender interest in the CERT program and solicit potential volunteers.
• Investigate how other local cities (i.e., Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno, etc.) solicit volunteers for their community CERT programs.

• An inventory of the City of Saratoga CERT emergency supplies/materials, positioned at the three cache locations within the city boundaries, is being conducted by Saratoga Argonaut CERT Division member Craig Pietrow. The goal is to have an equal distribution of the different classes of emergency supplies spread between the various cache locations. There was discussion on having additional caches (i.e., potential “mini-caches”) set up at additional sites to the main Cox CERT Division site at the City of Saratoga Prospect Center. Based upon the completed inventory and redistribution of supplies, our division should investigate what other items we would desire to have included in the cache(s), as a city budget exists to support some additional materials acquisition.

ACTION ITEMS TO COMPLETE BEFORE NEXT DIVISIONAL MEETING:

• Chuck Rader to investigate no-fee community usage of the City of Saratoga Prospect Center for community disaster preparedness training sessions.

• Chuck Rader to investigate the possibility of scheduling Mr. Frank Fraone, Senior Public Safety Specialist at PG&E, to provide a community presentation on gas and electric utilities during a major disaster.

• Brad Silveria to investigate the best contact with the City of Campbell CERT organization, in regard to attending one of their CERT meetings and coordinating a discussion of “best practices” with a city recognized as having a very strong CERT program.

NEXT COX CERT DIVISIONAL MEETING:

Wednesday, 26 September 2018, from 6:00 p.m. to approximately 7:15 p.m.