The purpose of this CERT IS-317 course was to prepare individuals not part of the professional disasters relief field to help in the event of a disaster. These everyday individuals become part of a team that can aid in preparing their families, neighbors, and coworkers for the threat of a disaster. CERT program participants become familiar with disaster preparedness, fire safety, hazardous chemical awareness, disaster medical operations, terroristic threats, and search and rescue procedures. Following the completion of this course and along with hands-on class room course experience the CERT participants will be valuable aids to professionals during a disaster (CERT Training Manual, 2011).
Disaster Preparedness is a vital part of the CERT program. As the basis of the CERT program preparedness begin at both the home and office. By preparing before a disaster develops, lives and properties can be saved. When preparing for a disasters hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness should be considered. Hazard mitigation is conducted in the home and office to determine potential hazards and eliminate or reduce the threat. Once the hazards have been identified and reduced the CERT member can them begin preparing for a potential disaster. You should develop a family disaster plan that includes plans for both an evacuation and sheltering in place. Disaster preparedness kits should be compiled. The kit should include basic supplies to meet the family’s needs for a few days if needed. This kit should be mobile as to meet the needs of both evacuation and sheltering in place (CERT Training Manual, 2011).
When a disaster has occurred it is vital that all emergency response components work together in order to battle the disaster in an optim...
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...ticipant has finished the CERT IS-317 course the final exam is the only thing stopping them from using their gained knowledge to help their family and neighbors during a disaster. A CERT member can be a valuable asset in the event of disaster. CERT members can be the initial command leaders until professional disaster relief personnel arrive at the scene. In the end, this class prepares individuals to be more knowledgeable about potential hazards and gives them tools to both reduce threats and also deal with disasters. After all being prepared for a disease is half the battle (CERT Training Manual, 2011).
Works Cited
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2011). Community emergency response team basic training participant manual Retrieved from http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/downloads/training/participantmanual/PM-Combined.pdf
The National response plan outlines four key actions the disaster coordinator should take. They are gaining and maintaining situational awareness, activate and deploy key resources and capabilities, coordinating response actions and demobilizing. Throughout the response it is essential that responders have access to critical information. During the initial response effort the situation is will change rapidly. Situational awareness starts at the incident site. For this reason it is essential that decision makers have access to the right information at the right time. By establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) all key responders are brought ...
Both man-made and natural disasters are often devastating, resource draining and disruptive. Having a basic plan ready for these types of disaster events is key to the success of executing and implementing, as well as assessing the aftermath. There are many different ways to create an emergency operations plan (EOP) to encompass a natural and/or man-made disaster, including following the six stage planning process, collection of information, and identification of threats and hazards. The most important aspect of the US emergency management system in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to man-made and natural disasters is the creation, implementation and assessment of a community’s EOP.
Schmidt, C. K., Davis, J. M., Sanders, J. L., Chapman, L. A., Cisco, M. C., and Hady, A. R. (2011). Exploring Nursing Students’ Level of Preparedness for Disaster Response. Nursing Education Perspectives, 32(6), 380-383. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp-02.lirn.net/docview/920892622/fulltextPDF/F759D54F8924633PQ/1?accountid=158614
Burke, Robert. Counter-Terrorism for Emergency Responders. 2nd ed. Florida: CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, 2007. Print.
Bissell, R. (2010). Catastrophic Readiness and Response Course, Session 6 – Social and Economic Issues. Accessed at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu/crr.asp
United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Contingency Staffing Plan for Operations. 2013. Print. .
Hazards pose risk to everyone. Our acceptance of the risks associated with hazards dictates where and how we live. As humans, we accept a certain amount of risk when choosing to live our daily lives. From time to time, a hazard becomes an emergent situation. Tornadoes in the Midwest, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast or earthquakes in California are all hazards that residents in those regions accept and live with. This paper will examine one hazard that caused a disaster requiring a response from emergency management personnel. Specifically, the hazard more closely examined here is an earthquake. With the recent twenty year anniversary covered by many media outlets, the January 17, 1994, Northridge, California earthquake to date is the most expensive earthquake in American history.
Florida, California, and New York each have two teams. They are joint units with eighteen Army National Guard and four Air National Guard personnel that are all Active Guard Reserve positions. The team is commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel and has an Army or Air Force First Sergeant. There are six sections within the unit: Command, Operations, Decontamination, Communications, Medical and Survey. Each of these positions requires extensive training both in their MOS and CST mandated training to become fully qualified for their assigned position. Some of the capabilities within the unit include a fully equipped CBRN Reconnaissance Team, secure and unsecure communications suite, technical decontamination line, medical response section with a Physician’s Assistant and Medical Operations Officer, ISO Certified Mobile Analytical Laboratory, and Hazard Prediction Plume Modeler. Each of these capabilities provides the Incident Commander with an arsenal of tools to help mitigate any situation that may
Communities must come together in order to be aware of the steps that must be taken to reduce or prevent risk. “The guidance, programs, processes, and systems that support each component of the National Preparedness System enable a collaborative, whole community approach to national preparedness that engages individuals, families, communities, private and nonprofit sectors, faith based organizations and all levels of government.” (FEMA, 2011). Resources within a community are prioritized and customized based on community-based issues and local security programs. The resources used as the front line of defense are first responders, such as police officers, firefighters and medical personnel. The resources are provided and prioritized based on the priority of threat and risks to a specific community. Therefore, the threats and risks targeted towards a community must be analyzed and acknowledged in order to apply the correct resources to the opposing prioritized threats. Disasters and emergencies typically begin at the local level and eventually require resources from state and federal
Haddow, G. D., Bullock, J. A., & Coppola, D. P. (2010).Introduction to emergency management. (4th ed., pp. 1-26). Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Finally, safety is the number one priority in order to survive and recover from any major catastrophic event. Education is the key to prevention. Know your local area and common disasters that occurs in that particular area. Knowing what they are and how to protect yourself will in terms help the recovery and healing process faster and easier for you and your family.
A disaster is not a simple emergency. A disaster is that point when a human is suffering and has a devastating situation which they themselves need help from others to survive. Regardless if natural or human caused, a disaster causes a vast amount of issues in the community. In the simulation of “Disaster in Franklin County reveals that preparation is key and even with that more can be addressed. A community nurse remains an essential part of the team involved in a disaster including before, during, and after the event.
Tulsa, Oklahoma: Fire Engineering Books. Oliver, C. (2010). The 'Standard'. Catastrophic Disaster Planning and Response. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss potential disasters that could affect a community and cause mass casualties. Further discussion will include who is responsible for the management preparedness, what barriers must be considered and finally this paper will discuss the health care facilities role in emergency supplies and care of the patient in a disaster situation. The Community Communities throughout the country and the world are susceptible to disasters. The environment and location of a community often predisposes a greater susceptibility to the type of disaster. For example, Central Pennsylvania would not be susceptible to an avalanche, however, communities in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado would have increased vulnerability.
This lack of preparation takes place in different places and involves different hazards. In the case of hurricane, only half of all respondents living in Central Florida have hurricane evacuation plan in place (Kapucu, 2008). Another finding revealed that only 8 percent of all respondent have prepared a disaster supplies kit in home. Kenny (2009) found that most residents in South Florida, hurricane-prone area, failed to take preparatory measures such as securing bottled water and food when storms strike. In another place and a different hazard, the result of study demonstrated the same finding. Paton and Prior (2008) studied bushfire preparation in Tasmania show that most respondents had undertaken some form of protective behavior only minimal and limited. They started to prepare after they were warned by disaster emergency services.