FLASH!!! COUNTY-WIDE ALERT -- CERT -- Life or Death!!!

Posted:  13 Apr 13

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE!
Ignore this at your (and our) peril!

Organization of This Article

• 1.  Purposes
• 2.  To Whom is This Article Talking?
• 3.  Background
• 4.  Apparently Uncommon "Common Sense"
• 5.  Training Objectives and Provisions
• 6.  Imminent County-wide Training Schedules

1.  PURPOSES

1.1  To STRONGLY urge every single fellow human (ages 16 and above), throughout this County, to take seriously the need to become trained disaster volunteers, without delay!  There are not nearly enough of us involved, yet -- not by a long shot!  If you are physically limited (by age, health, disability, preference, etc.) there is plenty of essential light work that needs to be done, too -- to free up others to do the other tasks!

As demand grows, MORE CLASSES can be added...

1.2.  To STRONGLY urge you to do everything you can to help pass the word to every fellow resident you encounter -- AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY -- and to create such opportunities, as often as you can.

1.3  To provide many of the details you will need, concerning the national and local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) programs and the very rare training opportunities being presented in the very near future.

• In this article, you will find much of what you need to know and links to pertinent details.  It is as complete as I can make it, under my particular circumstances.
• You are making a grave error if you do not put this at the VERY TOP of your priority lists.  I know you're busy, but unless you're dealing with life or death matters, little is more important -- more serious -- more urgent!!!!

2.  TO WHOM IS THIS ARTICLE TALKING?

The Entire Contra Costa County! 
And to help give a "heads-up" to the rest of our magnificent nation!

2.1  Every single individual, family, neighborhood, business, and government level, not already trained and active parts of the CERT program -- virtually the entire society -- all of us -- simply MUST pitch-in here, if no where else!

2.2  We ALL need to come on board -- it is absolutely inexcusable for a literate, rational society not to do all it reasonably can to prepare for what is so clearly waiting to befall us -- with utter, undeniable certainty.  This is everyone's serious business.

And, it's all so simple to take the basic steps (and a tiny bit of time and energy) to learn what to do and not do

3.  BACKGROUND

3.1  Within a very few days, in East County, a very rare (around twice per year, so far) opportunity is being presented -- to transfer the practical knowledge and skills -- and to maximize team-building -- to make MANY MORE of the needful preparations for the disasters THAT ARE COMING -- sure as rain!

Access to training schedules (and more) for the rest of the County are also included, below.

3.2  Over the life of this City-Journal, numerous articles have been published to give you more exact insight into what this is all about.  Here are links to some of them, which should answer your more obvious questions.  Please note that these time-frames are in the PAST.  Today's very article concerns the IMMEDIATE FUTURE:

• 1 - BASIC "CERT" DISASTER APPROACH
• BE A DISASTER VOLUNTEER -- BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE -- Starts, September 17, 2012
• CERT DISASTER TRAINING SUMMARY ~ 3/5/12 ~~ DAY No. 1
• CERT DISASTER TRAINING SUMMARY ~ 3/12/12 ~ DAY No. 2
• URGENT!!! C.E.R.T. Class Schedule Up-Date (2/17/12)
• City of Pittsburg: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) - 2/21/12
• TWO SEPT CLASSES: DISASTER TRAINING / CERT - 2/17/12
• DISASTER READINESS: Hurricane Sandy - 10/26/12

3.3  And if, by chance, you're interested in where this City-Journal is headed to help insure that we never fail to attend to this and other important business, EVER AGAIN, this article might be helpful:

A STRATEGIC APPROACH: Emergency & Disaster Readiness Element

4.  APPARENTLY UNCOMMON "COMMON SENSE"

You MUST realize:

4.1  That every single NEIGHBORHOOD simply MUST have their own trained CERT Teams!!! Who on earth do you think is going to save you if there is an area-wide disaster?  Emergency forces are going to be extremely busy.  It could take days (even weeks, if ever) before they MIGHT be able to assist you.  You are going to be on your own -- with great probability -- depending on the nature of the disaster.

4.2  That with proper training, we can and will be FORCE MULTIPLIERS for professional first-responders -- so that they can do even more -- and FASTER and BETTER.

4.3  That once your neighborhood CERT teams have done their duty toward you, within your immediate surroundings, your team(s) will be very much needed (and hopefully free) to deploy to save MANY others, elsewhere -- as part of the crucial master plan.  And, those other teams might be the very ones to save you and yours, in turn.

4.4  That without the very sensible precaution of doing your civic duty for your loved ones and others who will be in need -- you will know the sad guilt and shame (if you survive) of having put off what should never have been put off.

4.5  That WHEN the hammer falls, and you're unprepared, it's going to be too late to do all the things you will wish you had done -- and SHOULD have done.  AND YOU WILL MAKE AVOIDABLE, DANGEROUS MISTAKES.  Where do you think you live?  Do you seriously think we're somehow immune to catastrophe?  Time to think again, I'd say.

4.6  That the CERT program is a national, highly-developed effort -- not to steal your leisure time -- but to insure that you will have more of it (and much more), after things have been normalized, following a catastrophe.  FIRST THINGS FIRST.  The whole country is waking up -- how can you sleep while all of this is happening around you -- in logical anticipation of the many real threats to do you (and us) great harm?


5.  TRAINING OBJECTIVES & PROVISIONS

5.1  Upon Completion of a MERE 15 or so hours of training, you will, among other things, under the hands of skilled professionals and volunteers:

• Understand our area's basic disaster response plans and organizations
• Understand much of the scope, nature and behavior of disasters -- based on hard experience and careful thought
• Understand exactly what you need to do and how to do it and when -- AND WHAT NOT TO DO
• Understand what equipment you should have at your fingertips
• Understand how and when to safely: fight fires (small ones, before they become uncontrollable), shift heavy objects that are crushing people, enter (and exit) hazardous/suspicious buildings, do the things that first responders need you to do (before, during, and after), communicate with emergency organizations (efficiently) -- and such.
• Be immensely proud and relieved that you are far more ready than you were before -- to help save the precious things that constitute modern existence.
• FOR YOU WILL PROUDLY BE A CERTIFIED DISASTER VOLUNTEER!!!
• AND DON'T WORRY IF YOU CAN'T DO THE STRENUOUS STUFF -- THERE WILL BE PLENTY OF LIGHT WORK TO DO, TOO.

5.2  You will be provided with:

• ID cards (after taking the standard public oath) to identify you to first responders and enable you to enter a disaster scene -- AND TAKE PRESSURE OFF OUR PROFESSIONAL SAVIORS!
• Basic equipment that marks you as a trained volunteer (special vests, helmets, back pack, and so on)
• A comprehensive, well-written operations manual (developed by FEMA)
• ... and more.

6.  IMMINENT COUNTY-WIDE TRAINING SCHEDULES

6.1  As I said before, in a few days, the rare CERT training will commence in East County and in the near future, elsewhere.  The classes should be packed to over-flowing -- should be standing room, only.  Sadly, unless YOU roll up your sleeves (and do what is right) and make the big step, precious seats will be wasted (yet, again).

6.2  Besides, these classes are fascinating, well-designed, thoughtfully-delivered, great fun, and immensely rewarding.  You will be impressed, pleased and much-improved.  And you will get to meet and combine with others who are all so highly dedicated to the public good -- a true privilege -- and we will be just that much more secure.

AND, OF COURSE, THE CLASSES ARE FREE OF CHARGE!

6.3  FOR EAST COUNTY:  At this link, you will see, among other useful things, that classes will start, as follows -- (Five 3-hour sessions over 5 weeks)

• in Pittsburg (Monday, 4/22/13 -- 6:30 to 9:30 -- more or less) and 
• in Brentwood (Thursday, 4/25 -- same times)

6.4  FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTY:  Here is the County website (different from, but inclusive of the above), which contains all the class schedules (and more).

Regardless of where you live, you may attend classes at one location (or a mix of them), 

as your unique circumstances require.

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RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE ARE DESPERATELY NEEDED TO DO THEIR CIVIC DUTY!  

Unnecessary delay is unconscionable.  

Ignore this at your (and our) peril!

Dead-seriously yours,

David Nelson

All Original Content © 2013 , The MENTOR Enterprises / ELMS, All Rights Reserved -- BUT, I hereby suspend those rights, to this extent: You may freely copy and pass this along, if you think it will do some good -- as long as it's free of charge, unchanged, and you include this statement.