CERT: Another Kind of Partnership

By MARIANNE C. GUINEE, CBCP

In the fall issue of Disaster Recovery Journal, Robbie Atabaigi wrote a column about Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), giving some background on the overall program and relating her personal experience. In recent months I have been ecstatic about the number of people I hear who are “getting with the program!”
PPBI is all about private and public partnerships, and CERT is a partnership that is valuable to all. CERT emphasizes many of the same skill sets that a good BC planner requires – teamwork, actions focused at the greatest good, preparation, good decision making, and effective communication.
The CERT program is designated to teach everyday citizens how to act more effectively during a disaster as well as back up local emergency services personnel and lighten the overall relief effort.
In a large-scale event, citizens could be on their own and without normal emergency services (police, fire, and EMS) for hours. During this time, especially the first few hours, action is critical and could be life saving. Without preparation and instruction, average citizens may indeed compound the problems and possibly even injure themselves.
In the free 20-hour CERT programs offered nationwide, individuals receive standardized training in disaster preparedness, basic emergency medical operations, light duty search and rescue, fire suppression, traffic and crowd control, communications, and other critical areas.
The rule around CERT is fundamental: help yourself first, then your family, then your neighbors, and then your community. Know what to do, how to stay safe, and how to do the most good for the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.
Graduates receive an official ID card that should be carried with them at all times as well as a “CERT bag” with basic provisions free of charge. Standard issues include a CERT identification vest, hardhat, flashlight, work gloves, rubber gloves, facemask, and so forth; addition of other handy items on their own (yellow chalk, extra batteries, rope, duct tape, a small fire extinguisher) is encouraged.
Graduates are registered with their local community and state EMA. Advanced instruction is also available throughout the year from the local EMA group.
As a deputy coordinator for Des Plaines, Ill., EMA, I have a vested interest in CERT and knowing their capabilities. I went through the class myself in April 2004 and brought a friend, John Jackson (vice president of IBM BCRS) along for his opinion. Our “team” had individuals aging from 17 to 60, providing a vast diversity in physical abilities, experience, and maturity of decisions. We learned first-hand that the training provided a foundation of skill to work from and build on. Our final “exam” consisted of a “drill” to rescue trapped and injured personnel from a three-story building and provide medical triage.
CERT teams were deployed to Utica, Ill., in April 2004 due to a large-scale tornado as well as to Florida after the recent bout with major hurricanes. Emergency services personnel are now starting to see CERT in action. In Utica, the commander asked, “How long have these people been working together?”
This is the first time. Standardized training allows multiple groups of people to work together “as a team.”
As business continuity professionals, we know what the “unexpected” can do, and unfortunately some of us have seen it for real. We prepare by building partnerships with recovery vendors, software vendors, and with our own corporate divisions and partners. What about our partnerships with other human beings and for the good of our fellow workers, families, neighbors, and communities? There are a limited number of professional emergency services workers and time can be critical. What you do, and do not do, could save someone’s life, and maybe even your own. Isn’t that worth 20 hours of your time?
Additional information about the CERT program and finding a class near you can be found at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/cert/.

Marianne C. Guinee, CBCP, is a BCP planner for HSBC North America and has more than 20 years of experience in BCP, emergency response, and crisis management and is vice chairman of PPBI, Inc. She can be reached at mcguinee@4cimgmt.com

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