AT Our Daughters
Ron and Jacky Thomas
We got here a little after 4:00PM No trouble in the drive. Tomorrow I get started securing the place.
For the CERT team and the community.... We stopped at Harbor Freight in Arcada. I bought one megaphone. Had planned to buy 5 but they upped the price to $15 apiece. They were $7. The clerk says they go on sale every 3 months so we will wait. This also gives us a chance to try out one to see if it is all we want it to be. The clerk says if it does go on sale from 90 days of purchase they will refund the difference. When I get home will turn the receipt over to the Social Club.
Let me talk to you folks our friends and neighbors. I am heartened by your response to the controversy article. I think enough has been said and plan to let it drop now.
If you really want to help the CERT team you could talk to your Neighborhood Watch Block Capitan and convince them to buy an FRS radio with a battery Charger. Why? CERT and the Neighborhood Watch Block Captains working together will increase the CERT team's ability to help the community in a rapid manner. In point of fact Neighborhood Watch will be asked to perform an assessment of the damage and injured within their group and relay that information via FRS radio CH5 To CERT Operations. With them doing that we can cut 4 hours off what the CERT team would have to do before they could begin rescue operations and First Aide. 4 hours .. 4 HOURS! Think of the possible lives that can be saved... Think of the rescues that can be done almost immediately. The Neighborhood Watch Block Captains have a huge and important roll to play in our community Disaster plans. Yet they are unusable without communications. Our hope is between the CERT team and you, our neighbors, we can get our Block Captains motivated to buy a radio.
How will it work? After the disaster CERT will be setting up for a time in order to prepare for operations. During the same time our CERT Communications team (Liz Hill and Kristy Graff) will set up neighborhood, CERT and Lincoln County Emergency Services communications links.
The team will survey their neighborhoods on the way to the operations center (the clubhouse if it is still standing). The teams will organize and begin operations taking any volunteers willing to work under their supervision. About this time radio links should begin being established and an Incident Commander from CERT will assume the lead roll. People from the community will listen on their radios on CH 5 if they need help they will ask and Kristy or Liz who will notify the CERT team. Soon the Neighborhood Watch block Captains will call in with their knowledge of who is at home and who is injured, and how badly. The Incident Commander will establish priorities and dispatch the teams and volunteers at his/her disposal.
We are presently working on guidelines for incident commanders for all the emergencies we can see befalling the community. All the large ones require Block Captains and radios. This then is probably our single biggest problem right now. Please talk to your Block Captain and ask them to get a radio with a charger... while you're at it... consider buying one for your self.
Hey, all you sons, daughters and grandkids... what a great gift for Grandpa and Grandma, an FRS radio with a charger! Nothing says love like an FRS radio :)
The next time we have a power loss wouldn't it be great to just be informed as to what is going on? Wouldn't you like to know that there is someone out there that you could ask for help... Here is one for you... You have a power loss, it's raining, blowing, nasty, your wife is having a heart attack, your phone doesn't work, You don't know how to get your garage open to go to the hospital.. You have a radio :) tune to CH5 and ask for help... Most of us know CPR. We know how to get your garage door up We have stretchers and know how to use them. In fact they were especially designed by our seniors for our seniors.. And some day the clubhouse may have a defibrillator... 95% of the CERT team has been certified to use them.
