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Good Article in Emergency
Managment News Letter - CERT Should Be Mandatory
CERT Should Be Mandatory
All too often, businesses and organizations expect that first
responders can get to them quickly in a major disaster.
by Larissa Paschyn / October 30, 2017
Too often, businesses
and organizations rely on the hope that first responders will be able to
reach them in time during a major disaster. However, the bigger the disaster, the more
strain on limited resources, and the less likely the government will be able
to respond. As a result, it is
imperative that everyone in an organization can use their own resources and
skills to take care of each other.
FEMA maintains the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program as an
official emergency preparedness program. However, there is no obligation or
requirement for schools and employers in high-hazard areas to implement or
maintain such programs on site.
The CERT concept was originally developed following a series of earthquakes
in the U.S. and Puerto Rico that left hundreds dead, injured and without
emergency services. CERT volunteers are educated about disaster preparedness
for the hazards that may impact their area, and CERT trains them in basic
disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team
organization and disaster medical operations. Local responders can rely on
CERTs during disaster situations, which allows them to focus on more complex
tasks.
Yet public education campaigns encouraging participation in CERTs have not
been highly effective or visible. For
example, in California’s Bay Area, few residents are even aware that their
neighborhoods offer CERT. Combine that with the fact that numerous IT
companies in the Bay Area are
basically small cities, and you are looking at a recipe for disaster. With the limited man-power and resources
local emergency response has, these IT villages are not likely to receive
help for a long period of time. And let’s not forget the sheer density of
downtown San Francisco and Oakland, where emergency response will also have a
difficult time responding to all affected buildings.
Without
holding schools and businesses accountable, there is a greater
likelihood of loss of life when a catastrophic disaster occurs, such as
tornado, flood or earthquake. In a
catastrophic disaster, first responders will not be able to assist for a
prolonged period of time. By requiring
businesses of more than 150 persons and schools to have a work or
campus-based (C-CERT) team in place,
local public safety can focus on
other areas [during an emergency situation]; allowing the affected
school/company to be self-sufficient for a time.
In any disaster, you can find numerous accounts of neighbors and regular
citizens assisting at the scene before response agencies could deploy. After the Joplin, Mo., tornado in 2011,
neighbors assisted in digging others out of the rubble. During the 2016 Louisiana floods, instead
of waiting for the government to come rescue them, the people of Louisiana
used privately owned boats to save their neighbors. This “Cajun Navy” was
responsible for saving the lives of thousands of Louisianans.
In South San Francisco, biotech companies have been ahead of the game for
years, maintaining on-site search and rescue, medical, hazmat teams, and incident
command teams. In the event of an earthquake, they will be able to rescue and
treat their own staff before help arrives.
The fact is that our communities and our facilities are one of the most effective ways
to ensure that we are prepared in the event of a future emergency
response situation, and every business should be a part of that preparedness.
Schools and companies need to be able to take care of their own people, and in earthquake territory, it is irresponsible not to require all corporations and
educational institutions to have response programs in place.
Larissa Paschyn is the
emergency manager for Amgen in South San Francisco, where she trains the
emergency response teams. Previously, she was the external affairs officer
for the FEMA Region 9 Incident Management Assistance Team.
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