RBCERTAA is a non-profit organization created to organize and maintain the skill levels of CERT graduates. We accomplish this by supporting and attending ongoing emergency response training. Members are encouraged to achieve a high level of preparedness and provide volunteer support to the Redondo Beach Fire Department when a major disaster strikes, or when activated by the RBFD in the event of an emergency.

RBCERTAA Board Members:

Marcelle McCullough (Pres.)

Mike Grady (V.P.)

Montgomery L. Ruth (Treas.)

Rochelle Kelley (Sec.)

Jeff Adam

Jennifer Adam

Bob Applegate

Lily Gonzalez

Bob Kumler

Sandy Marchese

Newsletter Editor: Bob Applegate

(Earthquake damage photo courtesy Efata Ministries)

Lily Gonzalez Helps in Peru Disaster

RBCERTAA Board Member Lily Gonzalez wasn’t planning to head into a disaster. She was going to Peru for a few months to do volunteer work with some of the local people there. Unexpectedly, things changed...

On August 15^th a magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck near the coast of central Peru. Lily arrived there two days later.

As she arrived in Lima, the city was still experiencing aftershocks. The epicenter of the quake had been 95 miles away to the southeast. At least 514 people were killed in the quake, with 1090 injured. More than 35,500 buildings, many of them made of adobe, were destroyed (source: U.S. Geological Survey). There was widespread communication and power losses in the region.

Lily began by attending a preparedness meeting with all of the local families that live in Efata, which is a Peruvian school for deaf children supported by Lily’s church here in L.A. During the training session they experienced another aftershock! When last we heard, she was planning to train some of the local leaders on “evacuation, search & rescue, building assessing, and much more.” The previous day they’d been out of water and without power for half the day.

Four days later Lily was planning to enter the devastated part of the country, bringing food, water, emergency supplies and blankets. In an email, Lily expressed gratitude to the RBFD for taking the time, money and effort to provide her with the training she found so valuable in these trying circumstances.

By September 12^th things had calmed down a bit. The aftershocks had died down. Power availability was still intermittent. Both of the water pumps for their entire facility had broken down. Food was scarce – they were eating twice a day most of the week, with the staple being lentils and rice, and they were grateful for that.

Lily is mostly back on her original plan: “I am working as a teacher assistant from 8am to 1:30pm. Monday-Thursday. In the afternoon I am in the sewing class preparing the emergency vests. Then, I help the girls with their homework. Fridays, I teach physical education to the girls, elementary school level in the morning & High School level in the afternoon. (The teacher's have joined the class!) I am encouraging them to be fit. (In the event that we need someone to assist in “cribbing.””

Another reminder of what L.A. might be like after “The Big One.”

If you would like to send assistance for this project, please send it to:
Pastor Wilkerson
1000 Pine Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90813

Designate it “Lily Gonzalez earthquake relief fund.”

Events Calendar

10/2 RBCERTAA Board of Directors Meeting

Billy's Deli & Restaurant

5160 190th St.

(190th & Anza next to 99 Cent Store)

Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month.

Social starts at 6:00pm. Meetings are called to order at 6:30pm.

All RBCERT alumni are encouraged to attend!

CERT Contact: Marcelle McCullough 310-346-8551

10/7 Safety Fair & Police Department Open House – CERT Booth

Features tours of the Police Station, displays of police equipment and fire apparatus, safety and crime prevention exhibits, free gun locks, entertainment and food free of charge to the public.

10:00am - 3:00pm

CERT Contact: Sandy Marchese 310-729-8688

10/11-13 National Emergency Preparedness Conference

Capital Christian Conference Center

9479 Micron Ave.

Sacramento, CA 95742

$80 for active "non-paid" disaster emergency volunteers affiliated with an emergency response agency, others $330.

http://www.srccc.org/

10/27 CERT class #36 Graduation

Course review and disaster simulation

Volunteers needed for setup: contact Marcelle

Redondo Beach Fire Station No. 2

2400 Grant Ave. @ Mackay Lane

10:00am - 3:00pm

CERT Contact: Marcelle McCullough 310-346-8551

11/6 RBCERTAA Board of Directors meeting

Billy's Deli & Restaurant

5160 190th St.

(190th & Anza next to 99 Cent Store)

Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month.

Social starts at 6:00pm. Meetings are called to order at 6:30pm.

All RBCERT alumni are encouraged to attend!

CERT Contact: Marcelle McCullough 310-346-8551

11/11 START Training (Simple Triage and Rapid Treatment)

START is designed to help you understand mass casualty incidents and manage and prioritize high numbers of victims.

Note: Our Fire Department puts out a lot of money and effort to offer this training. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend so we can continue to offer these continued education classes.

Location TBD based on RSVP Numbers. RSVP required: to Marcelle McCullough at 07rbcertaa.pres@gmail.com

12:00pm - 3:00pm

CERT Contact: Marcelle McCullough 310-346-8551

11/13 CERT Fundraiser at CPK ASAP

Have lunch or dinner at CPK ASAP & RBCERTAA gets 20%!

Bring a copy of the flyer to the event.

1430 South Pacific Coast Highway, Redondo Beach

Phone: 310-792-3871
On PCH at Avenue G

4:00pm - 9:00pm

CERT Contact: Marcelle McCullough 310-346-8551 or Megan Grandmaison, GM of CPK ASAP, at mgrandmaison@cpk.com.

RBCERTAA Booth at AYSO Opening Day

The RBCERTAA team was out at the recent AYSO Opening Day activities. The RBCERTAA team encouraged preparedness and informed the public of CERT and the CERT Academy. A number of interested citizens approached the booth for additional information. Seen at left are RBCERTAA Treasurer Monty Ruth and Sparky the Redondo Beach Fire Dog, A.K.A. RBCERTAA Secretary Rochelle Kelly.

A preparedness gift basket was created by Lisa Rodriguez and auctioned off to benefit Redondo Beach AYSO. The final bid for the basket was from Rosalinda Garcia, owner of Fresh Source Produce, for $475.00. Another way RBCERTAA is helping the community!

Volunteer Opportunities

RBCERTAA needs your help! The strength of this organization is the willingness of CERT graduates to step up and work together for the common good. Don’t worry, it won’t take too much time! The following volunteer opportunity exists within RBCERTAA:

Communications Committee

The Communication Committee is looking for help in redesigning the RBCERTAA website. We have a pretty good idea of what we want, but we need help in implementation. Once constructed, we can maintain the site ourselves, if necessary. A great opportunity to be an integral part of this vital RBCERTAA tool!

Equipment Committee

The Equipment Committee needs volunteers to pull the trailer and display the equipment when the board or fire department asks for it and Mike Grady is not available.

Community Involvement Committee

The Community Involvement Committee’s goal is to increase the visibility of Redondo Beach CERT to the residents of Redondo Beach.

Volunteers interested in assisting with the Community Involvement Committee can email Sandy Marchese at SRedondoBeach@aol.com or leave a message on the RBCERT Hotline at 310-217-7682.

There are many other ways to get involved! Please contact RBCERTAA if you’d like to volunteer for any of the above opportunities, or have any ideas on how you’d like to help. If you don’t have time to spare, we’ll take cash donations (remember, they’re tax deductible)!

Redondo Beach Firefighter Spotlight

Firefighter/paramedic Kevin Coffelt is the subject of this month’s spotlight. With 25 years experience with the RBFD, Kevin is a man of many talents. A typical day might find him inspecting businesses for fire ordinance violations, teaching his EMT class at El Camino College, or even going out on an arson investigation!

Born in Oregon, Kevin started his studies at Fresno State University in criminology. He took a part-time job at a local ambulance service in the 70’s, and his life has never been the same! He quit college to enter the paramedic program at Daniel Freeman Hospital. He has fond memories of a job he once had – living on board an instructor’s 42’ sailboat. Tough gig!

For awhile Kevin worked in Half-Moon Bay, across the street from the ocean. He seriously considered becoming at Physician Assistant or MD, but decided that he’d had enough school, and he really liked the “atmosphere” to be found in the firehouses.

He started with the RBFD in 1982. As of November, he will have been a medic for 30 years, which is quite uncommon.

These days Kevin is kept quite busy teaching EMT classes at El Camino College. These ever-popular courses can be quite hard to get into, with a waiting list quite common.

Kevin lives in Torrance with his wife of 27 years and three children. His oldest son is following in his footsteps – he’s currently working at a local ambulance service.

His hobby is work and skiing. What he likes most about the job is the variety and the attitude civilians have about firefighters.

Free HAM Radio Class Offered

RB firefighter James Caldwell with mobile communications tool.

In the event of a major disaster, normal communications may be disrupted or unavailable. Power and phones may be down. HAM radio provides a powerful alternative. A license is required from the FCC to operate radios on the HAM radio frequencies. The free HAM licensing class is being offered on two consecutive Saturdays - October 6 & 13. The entry-level Technician Class course is from 10:00am until 2:00pm on each day. Bring a sack lunch. The General Class course (for already licensed Technicians) is offered at 2:30pm - 5:00pm on both days. Each course is free and two days long.

The FCC licensing test will be given October 20th, 10:00am until noon. The courses are taught by Walt Ordway (K1DFO), a very experienced HAM radio operator, who has helped many local residents achieve the HAM radio licenses. Optional course materials are available from Walt – a study book with the FCC questions is $15 and a copy of his very helpful PowerPoint presentation is $10.

For additional information, Walt may be reached at 310-541-4007 or walt.ordway@yahoo.com. Pre-registration is not required, just come to the first class.

The courses and test will be held at Hesse Park, 29301 Hawthorne Blvd., Rancho Palos Verdes. The FCC test costs $14.

You Ain’t Gonna Need No Band-Aids

[Editor’s note: This new column was written exclusively for RBCERTAA by Marc Vetri, veteran surgical and trauma Physician Assistant and preparedness enthusiast from Durango, Colorado.]

You ain’t gonna need no Band-Aids in your first responder disaster pack. In a mass casualty incident (MCI) we’d likely be isolated from professional rescuers, essentially on our own to treat the injured, now laying at our feet.

It will be you and I that have to remember to evaluate scene safety in order to avoid becoming another victim. There won’t be anyone to remind us that rapid triage is paramount to saving lives in an MCI. We won’t have instructors to push us through the scared, crying and injured people as we do our sixty-second first responder triage. The most common error in triage is patient treatment. Remember to keep things moving.

Immediate priority must be given to life-threatening injuries. This is the group we can help most in the first minutes after a disaster – they will die if they don’t receive expedited BASIC first aid.

Controlling severe bleeding and simple airway repositioning can save lives in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The good news is that these are BASIC first aid techniques! I want my kit to provide me with everything I need to handle these lifesaving procedures.

Treat significant extremity bleeding with direct pressure, elevation, arterial pressure point application, and last resort – tourniquet application. With enough ABD pads, wide rolled gauze and sturdy wide tape we can rapidly apply direct pressure and proximal arterial compression to the important sources of extremity bleeding. Wide cloth tape is also strong enough to provide an adequate tourniquet when used with a windlass.

External bleeding from an internal source, such as a chest or abdominal injury, is not field-treatable. Secure an expedient field dressing over the wound, maintain shock position, tag with “Red” (Immediate) triage priority and rapidly transport upstream for advanced care.

Airways and breathing will be an issue for victims with facial trauma, inhalation injury and most commonly in patients less than fully conscious due to other injuries. In an MCI, simple, well executed airway maneuvers will be the most we can offer, but we can save lives. Review the techniques for the head-tilt chin-lift and jaw thrust maneuvers. Foreign bodies (i.e. tongue, teeth, blast debris, etc.) should be removed or repositioned carefully if they are compromising the airway. Tape, clothing, debris or other items may be used to help position the patient to optimize their airway. Positioning the semi or unconscious patient on their side will put gravity to work by keeping the tongue from falling back into the airway and allowing secretions to drain forward. These will be “Red” (Immediate) triage priority patients in the absence of other obviously mortal injuries.

Another lifesaving “airway” first aid technique is the treatment of pneumothorax or “sucking chest wound.” A penetrating injury to the chest can be emergently treated by covering the wound with anything occlusive. Ideally a one-way flutter valve dressing which seals the wound, preventing air from entering the chest (reducing lung expansion), but allowing air to escape should be fashioned ASAP.

Remember, if it takes a long time to do, you don’t have time to do it. Practicing the simple first aid skills I’ve noted herein will allow you to save patients without compromising the safety of others by taking too long in triage. Time is of the essence!

After a disaster anyone with first aid training will be in high demand and called upon to treat all comers. I don’t want to downplay the need to tend all wounds, large and small, but keep things in perspective. Due to the increased risk of infection from a contaminated environment and delays in definitive care, it’ll be MORE important to care for every minor “Band-Aid” wound. However, it would take many days or weeks to become mortally ill from an injury that a Band-Aid or 2x2” gauze would be used to treat.

My first responder bag is very simple. I want to be able to reach inside the single large opening and without looking find what I need instantly. Fifty pair of exam gloves in a Ziploc bag, 20+ 8x10” ABD pads (you can quickly tear or fold them smaller), 4 and 6” gauze rolls, 4 and 6” cloth tape rolls, triage tags, marking pens, trauma scissors and an extra headlamp should do it.

Band-Aids, small gauze pads and rolls, ointments and medications have their place in my disaster medical gear, but not in my first responder disaster pack.

Preparedness Tip of the Month

Yes, water and food are crucial members of your disaster preparedness, but this month we’re reminding you of an often overlooked, but potentially invaluable addition – CASH. Remember that in an emergency ATMs may be unavailable. All electronic forms of cash (credit/debit cards, etc.) may be unavailable. $50 in small bills is a good start, $100 would be better.