What we learned

What we learned:


The recent CERT drill was attended by Lost Creek CERT Members Mike Mulligan and Sean Krause. They came at our invitation because we borrowed so many of their ideas from their disaster plan. They also came because, in the larger sense, we are all part of the team that is NEWPORT CERT , which is dedicated to the entire community of Newport.

  We wanted them to listen and observe and tell us ways to improve. They found lots of things we could do. They praised what we had done and pointed to several areas where we already had information that we need only to reconstitute. They offered to share computer work ups that will help us get our plan in place far sooner than we could have on our own. We wrote down everything they said and will be training on it as the CERT Team.

Key to the Longview Hills Disaster Plan will be a partnership between our CERT team and The Neighborhood Watch Block Captains and co-Captains. Because Neighborhood Watch Block Captains possess the information about the people they serve in their blocks it is possible for them to find out the status of their neighbors in a rapid response using telephones, cell phones or our new emergency radios and yes even walking next door and checking. Such a response will cut the time to do this by CERT and volunteers from one hour and twenty minutes to just a few minutes. Time saved by finding out where the injured and trapped are will allow the Community Emergency Response Team to react much sooner. The first few moments after the disaster are truly the Golden Moments and are the times when First Aid can do the most good and save the most lives. This is the CERT mantra, “The most good for the most people in the shortest amount of time”.

Your can help evolve our disaster plan by:

• Consider helping or becoming a block captain or co-captian for Neighborhood Watch.


• Purchasing an emergency radio (FRS from WalMart $15 for 2) and learn to operate it.


• Read the SET magazine passed out to you during the meeting or exercise.


• Help the CERT team as a volunteer and attend the weekly meetings on Wednesdays at 11:00 am at the clubhouse for training.