Posted by: John_Hamilton on 04/09/2013 07:15 AM
Updated by: John_Hamilton on 04/09/2013 07:22 AM
Expires: 01/01/2018 12:00 AM
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County-wide Emergency Exercise April 20th
Mountain Ranch, CA, April 9, 2013: More than 100 volunteers and local emergency responders will take part in the second Annual Calaveras emergency exercise on Saturday, 20 April in the Mountain Ranch area. This exercise will test the preparedness and response of local, regional and state agencies should a real crisis occur that has the potential to overwhelm the responders...
The event staged by Sgt Rachelle Whiting, Calaveras Sheriff/Office of Emergency Services, will focus on response plans for an actual disaster which would trigger a sudden influx of injured persons, media, concerned community members and test the compatibility of different public agencies (Sheriff, Fire, CHP) to not only work and communicate with each other but work and communicate with private and nongovernment organizations like the America Legion Ambulance, PG&E, Red Cross and the newly formed Calaveras Emergency Response Teams,
A Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a FEMA recognized program under the Calaveras Citizen Corps and made up of local volunteers that have undergone intensive 21 hours of training in Light Search & Rescue, Fire Suppression, Disaster Medical, Traffic Control and other emergency procedures.When activated by their local emergency responders these trained volunteers respond to take on the necessary collateral duties that Firefighters, Police Officers and other Emergency Responders need to accomplish but which take them from more important duties only professionals can accomplish.
The scenario chosen for the emergency scenario on 20 April is a simulated tour bus crash thorough a power pole. Witnesses, after traveling several miles for cell phone reception, report the bus is teetering on the edge of a precipice with many injuries and several bodies and debris along the roadway. Several of these reports indicate live power lines on and around the bus and injured.
Sgt Whiting cautions that the event is a significant exercise and the local community can expect to see emergency responders looking and acting as if this exercise were a true disaster. However, normal Law Enforcement, Fire, and Ambulance operations will not be affected by the drill in any way.
CERT Academies are currently scheduled for Copperopolis, Jenny Lind/Valley Springs, and Arnold in the coming months. To learn more about CERT or if this training is available near you, contact your local Fire Department for details or contact Dennis Lewis, Program Manager for the Calaveras Emergency Response Team at (209) 712-3120 (delewis63@yahoo.com).
CERT Triage Practice
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