CERT Team Looking For Radio Equipment

The CERT I am part of is looking for some new or gently used amateur radio equipment. If you have any of these items to donate, please contact me

kb5nju hotmail com:

• 2m Mobile Radio, 20w transmitter power or higher
• Power Supply capable of powering a mobile radio of at least 20w
• Discone Antenna, capable of transmitting on 2m. One that comes with a portable pole mounting system would be great.
• 50 feet of RG-58 coax cable

Almost 50% of our CERT consist of licensed amateur radio operators with others who are interested in getting their licenses. Our goal is to set up a base station during events where a net control operator can facilitate communication with the hams as they go about their tasks.

The Temple (Texas) CERT is affiliated with the City of Temple Fire and Rescue and a 501(c)3 organization.

Thanks and 73.

What's In My CERT Bag?

On Saturday I tweeted that I was repacking my CERT kit into an old XL Army rucksack. A couple of folks tweeted back to ask what I had in my bag. It's a little too long to tweet, so I'll make the list here.

The stuff in the bag is mostly stuff provided by the CERT group I belong to. They provided a nice back pack, but it was too small for my taste as I have a tendency to over-pack. I plan to add some stuff of my own as time goes on. 

For now, here's what I have in the bag:

• 2 Reflective Vests (1 green and 1 yellow)
  
• 1 Roll Yellow Caution Tape
• 1 Hard Hat
• 1 Roll Duct Tape (the handyman's secret weapon)
• 1 Pair Gloves
• 1 Pair Safety Goggles
• 1 Gas Main Shutoff Tool
• 1 Pry Bar
• 1 Pair Knee Pads
• 50 feet 1/4-inch Nylon Rope
• 1 Green Glow Stick
• 1 Particulate Mask
• 3 125ml Pouches of Survival Water
• 1 37X37X37 Bandage (good for slings)
• 3 "Ace" style bandages
• 84X52 inch metallic survival blanket
• 1 4 oz. Bottle Hydrogen Peroxide
• 1 "Blood Stop" Trauma Dressing
• 4 4X4's
• 1/4 oz. Pouch of SPF 30 Sun Block
• 1 Pr. "EMS" Scissors
• 1 Roll 1/2" Medical Tape
• 11.75 inch Trauma Dressing
• 1 Flashlight
• 1 Multi-tool
• 1 non Load-Bearing Carabiner
• 1 Backpack
• 1 CERT Operating Guide by J.L. Darling Corporation
  www.riteintherain.com
• 2004 DOT HAZMAT Emergency Response Guide
• 1 Whistle
• 1 Yellow Lumber Crayon

This is certainly not the end-all be-all list of what one could carry. It's just what I've gathered or have been given so far. I'm still considering what else I might need. Our CERT trailer is very well stocked with supplies which frees me to need much less in my personal bag.

With the larger rucksack I have room for extra clothes, food, water, etc. if I need to have them. I also have lots of nice attachments to hang things on, like my amateur radio HT. I think this bag will work better if I actually have to stay somewhere for a while; as in in a search and rescue scenario. If needed, I can also grab just a few things and put them in the other backpack if that is more appropriate.

Hurricane Ike After Action Report to CERT

Here are some excerpts from my after-action report to the CERT president regarding my observations while working in the hurricane shelter:

Timeline

September 11th was rather chaotic, somewhat reminiscent of the events we commemorate that day from 2001. I was contacted late that morning by Mary and Martha requesting as many people as could be at the Fair Grounds at 2pm. There was a little confusion which was cleared up later that only some needed to be at the 2pm meeting. Considering the last-minute rush of finding out people were coming and when, this is understandable. Mary and Martha did a great job of sorting things out and getting information to me about what was needed later that day. I quickly got my assignments worked out and was ready to go.

I arrived at the shelter at 6pm September 11. I met Lee at the back of the building, and he started to show me around. I spent some time trying to find the sign-in sheet I was told to make sure I documented my time on. While working that out, a bus with new arrivals pulled up at the front of the building and I spent the next hour or so assisting people (mostly carrying their luggage) off the bus and into the reception area of the shelter. Things were a bit chaotic, which, again, was completely understandable. However, the chaos had an organized flow to it and I don't believe it hampered getting people into the building and settled into a spot inside after inprocessing. Staff and volunteers were thinking on their feet and adapting to the situation quite well.

I ran into Michael after helping with the ingress of the bus passengers. He had already been there for a time and knew where the sign-in was in the clinic area Memorial Hospital (MH) had set up and whom to speak with to get further instructions. Once inside Michael and I made ourselves available and told those who were dealing with the medical screening we were there to help. They were willing to accept our assistance and quickly found things for us to do to assist the patients and get them settled in. We were kept very busy until about 9pm when things started to settle down. It was nice we were included in the meetings among the MH staff to update everyone on the status of the overall situation from the EOC as that helped give us a good picture of how the shelter fit into the larger scheme and how we could better help the patients staying at the shelter.

Upon my arrival on September 12 I found things had, for the most part, settled into a routine. Patients were still arriving who needed screening and settling in, but there were not nearly as many as the day before. I assisted the doctors, nurses and social workers from MH as they took care of the needs of patients. One particular gentleman arrived that evening who appeared to have been homeless. He had been stuck on buses for hours and had wet himself, but refused to shower. One of the social workers convinced him to clean up. Two of the firefighters on duty and I assisted in getting him cleaned up and settled in.

Many of the patients were glued to storm coverage on one of the TVs which had been set up in the two recreation rooms. My heart really went out to them as they watched what was going on. I'm sure it added a lot to their stress levels, which were already high just from being uprooted from their homes and sent to an unfamiliar place. Still, most of the patients were in good spirits, all things considered. I only noted one or two who were on bad temper and/or uncooperative

The routine was firmly settled in and things were running very smoothly upon my arrival at 11pm on September 13th. I spent the night assisting the nurses to conduct rounds and assist people who needed assistance to the rest rooms. We jokingly called making rounds "Oxygen Bottle Patrols" as one of our duties was to make sure everyone on O2 had a serviceable bottle. The time went by very quickly as we were kept busy for the most part.

My next shift on September 19 was fairly easy. By this time many of the patients had been moved out of the shelter and there were only a few who needed attention. I helped assist on trips to the bathroom and making rounds to make sure everyone was doing well. The only real incident during this time was that someone was smoking in the rest room. We didn't catch the person, but it did remind me of a funny story about a nun always on the patrol for smokers in my high school.

September 20 was rather slow. There were very few special needs patients still in residence and they were eager for the scheduled departure the next day. There were a few trips to the rest room and one person (who was not listed as a special needs patient) who was sent to MH ED with chest pain. Otherwise, my time there passed without incident.

Observations

I was very impressed with the clinic the staff from MH set up. On Thursday, I asked how long they had been working on the area set aside for them to use. When they told me they rolled in just the day before and got it ready, I was astounded. Although it was not to be compared to the hospital itself, they were well-supplied, had phone and data networks installed and plenty of people to take care of the tasks at hand. One nurse commented there had been talk of setting up a semi-permanent presence in the building for just such events in future. I think this is a great idea.

The folks from the city did a great job, too. Again, it wasn't the best of situations, yet they managed to make the place quite livable and rather comfortable from my point of view. The staff from the city kept the place very clean and sanitary. The recreation rooms were well-stocked and set up. I'm not sure if the food was donated or purchased, but it was a very good idea to have the local restaurants prepare the meals. Good food can make an otherwise difficult experience quite a bit nicer.

One thing I would suggest: If this building is to be used as a shelter again, more handicap-accessible restroom facilities would be very good. The one major problem I saw was the difficulty for mobility-challenged people was getting into and out of the rest rooms. Another set of more permanent shower facilities (also handicap-accessible) would also be a huge plus.

I heard very few complaints from any of the patients I had contact with. Quite the opposite, many were very complimentary of the care and attention they received. Considering the circumstances, I would not have been surprised to hear more complaints. I heard many, many "thank you's" and compliments. It was very gratifying to know the hard work and effort put into the shelter was appreciated.

Lastly, the amount of volunteer time put in at the shelter was astounding to me. At first, I thought those from MH were "on the clock" for their time at the shelter. My admiration for them all greatly increased when I found they were volunteering their time, too. It really does show what a great community we live in.

Another Shift At The Shelter

I did another four hours at the hurricane shelter last night. I was on from 10pm until 2am, so things were relatively quiet. I helped some folks to get around and kept my eye on things.

Many people who were there last week were able to leave. Some got to go home, but others moved to shelters closer to their homes. I can imagine that would be frustrating for them; moving from one shelter to another and not being able to go back to familiar surroundings. The other shelter in our town is closing, so the people remaining there will come to our shelter this afternoon. It'll probably be a little busier when I'm there tonight.

The most exciting thing was trying to track down the mystery smoker who lit up in the bathroom. I went into the men's room to take care of some business and I could smell the smoke very strongly. Whoever it was, I just missed him.  The shelter supervisor looked around, but he didn't find anything amiss. He sprayed to get rid of the smell, but that's all he could do.

It took me back to high school (yes, it was a long time ago). Sr. Evangeline was a nun on a mission: teach kids about Herman Melville and Nathanial Hawthorne and catch kids smoking in the school. There were a few times when I was in the boys' room when she would burst in and yell, "OK! Who's smoking in here?" Thankfully, I was never caught in one of these surprise raids, but she did manage to rack up an impressive record of "busts."

One day, my friends and I were in the library during lunch - probably doing homework for our afternoon classes we should have done at home. All of the sudden, Sr. Evangeline burst through the door with her usual abruptness, yelling: "OK! Who's smoking in here?"

I don't remember if it was I who was brave enough to ask, or whether it was one of my friends. But, as she hurried around the room looking for errant cigarette smoke, one of us asked, "Sister, who would be stupid enough to smoke in the library? They'd surely be caught in here." As I recall, her answer was something about stupid, spoiled kids doing things they're not supposed to and ruining their lives.

The teachers' lounge was right next to the library. In those days, the teachers were allowed to smoke in the building, in the teachers' lounge. Often there would be a cloud wafting out of the room when someone entered or exited. Some other brave kid asked Sr. Evangeline if perhaps she was smelling the smoke coming from there. No, it had to be a kid in the library.

Of course, I digress. I had to chuckle to myself as I thought about her bursting into the boys' room looking for criminal tobacco use.

Hurricane Shelter - Night 2

Last night in the shelter was a little slow, but that's probably a good thing. Most of the folks staying were glued to the TV watching the news coverage of the storm. My heart really went out to them as they worried about their homes and loved ones left behind.

There were a few things to do, though. We helped one gentleman who had some trouble getting around shower up and get some newer clothes. There was also some toting and lifting to do, as well as helping some get around the building.

One thing I learned that astounded me was that all the folks from the hospital running the clinic were volunteering their time, too. I had they impression they were on the clock, but I was quite wrong. Their esteem went way up in my eyes, and I told them so.

I had a discussion with the nurse who coordinated things at the shelter. We spoke about what a great city we live in where people from all walks of life come together to help out those in need. I agree wholeheartedly.

I'm not sure when my next shift will be as I haven't heard from the CERT leaders yet. I will call them if I don't hear anything by lunchtime. If I'm back and I have the chance I'll post some more live blogs on Twitter.

Working In A Hurricane Evacuation Shelter

Last night I spent 4 hours volunteering at a shelter set up for people evacuating the Texas Gulf Coast in anticipation of Hurricane Ike hitting land. The shelter I was assigned to was one specifically set up to take in those whose medical problems require professional monitoring.

First thing as I arrived we helped folks off a bus which brought them to the shelter from the central check-in point. Some of them had been stuck on busses since early morning and hadn't eaten nor had much to drink. We assisted those with limited mobility with the help of their family members, through the check-in process and a quick medical screening.

The local hospital set up a clinic in the building the previous day. They took some of the supplies and equipment they set aside for mass casualty situations to stock and outfit the area they were assigned to. I and another EMT member of our CERT helped the doctors and nurses where we could, mostly just running people and things from place to place. I have to say, the hospital folks did a great job in setting up and getting going. I was impressed by their preparedness and professionalism.

I stayed until 10 PM. I'll be there again tonight and probably through next week. Depending on how hard Ike hits, there might be folks in the shelter for a while if the power is out for an extended time in their home towns.

I had a chance to "live blog" via Twitter a few times yesterday. If I have a chance, I'll do it again tonight. You can follow my Twitter reports on this page (on the left) but it's a lot easier to follow if you follow me at www.twitter.com/kb5nju.