RBCERTAA Monthly Newsletter & Events Calendar

Welcome to the latest edition of the RBCERTAA Newsletter & Events Calendar. We're thrilled to be introducing you to a new newsletter format.

This technology allows for more consistent formatting, and advanced features such as "Join Our Mailing List," PayPal purchasing [coming soon] and even "Unsubscribe!"

RBCERTAA is alive and well and looking forward to seeing you at one of our events soon! It's "use 'em or loose 'em" when it comes to your emergency response skills, so take some time to join one of our training drills - you won't regret it!

County-Wide Tsunami Drill February 20th

By Bob Applegate
"Operation Higher Ground," the county-wide tsunami drill originally scheduled for November has been rescheduled to February 20th.

Redondo Beach CERT members will deploy with full gear (helmet, medical kit, etc.) to the Knob Hill Community Center on the corner of PCH and Knob Hill. The event will start at 10:00AM and end at 2:00PM. This drill is a "big deal" and will involve many of the emergency response teams from the South Bay and throughout L.A. County.

It's a great opportunity for our CERT team to prepare for the real thing and demonstrate the skills we've been taught.

The drill is on a Wednesday, so do what you can to get the day off, now! Those of you who feel that a "tune-up" is required for your skills might consider reading through the latest version of the CERT manual.

Report From the Fire Zone

By Lily Gonzalez
[Editor's note: this article was written in late October, but publication was delayed due to technical issues.]

Hi to everyone. I am now back in the States. I went straight to visit my brother in Tijuana (before I settled in) and to my surprise - I was stuck in T.J. for a day. This was when the fires first began in San Diego. Then, the next day I was able to cross the border.

My heart was broken to find out what was going on. My mother and I found ourselves in the middle of the people who were being evacuated. After many detours due to the closing of the roads, we found ourselves stuck on Highway 78 for about 9 hours - everyone was parked on the side of the road and on the highway. We were told that we were going to have to spend the night there because we were surrounded by four fires. Wow! Thank God, I had my emergency kit, which included two breathing masks, a blanket, plenty of water, nuts, flashlights, toilet paper, cash (among other things) and finally a full tank of gas.

As the night set in people began to worry, and wanted to find a way out. By this time an officer came by and asked a number of us to try to find a way out. He knew of a road that could take us to Temecula (it was a windy, one hundred mile road through the mountains. I took my pad, pen, and flashlight and I asked an officer for the exact directions, then I gathered some of the cars around me. Four cars agreed to pool our resources and follow each other and assist each other, if need be. We were all in agreement and off we went. Before we knew it many followed. After an hour and fifteen minutes we made it into a safe area in Temecula. Once we were out of danger the static on the radio was gone and I was able to listen to many callers out of Escondido who were asking for updates. The station said that they had limited information from those areas. They encouraged people to call in with information, so I called and passed on the information on how to leave that area, encouraging them to stay together.

I shared this with all of you - to once again thank you for all that you do. I am planning on going back to San Diego tomorrow, to assist in any way. I was delighted to see this email [Beach Cities Health District call for volunteers] because I have been telling everyone on how Kiwanis are always ready to assist and what a blessing Kiwanis was to the people in Peru during the earthquakes.

What one person can do is great! However, it is AMAZING what a group of people can do and what a HUGE difference we can all make! Thanks again Kiwanis, Beach Cities and CERT for pulling together to assist those in need!

RBCERTAA President's Corner: "Seconds Count"

By Marcelle McCullough
With the recent devastation of the California wildfires I wanted to address alumni, families and friends as we keep all those affected in our thoughts.

The quickness with which these fires became so widespread was incomprehensible. Does it make you think, like it did me, how life can change in a second? Who knows when disaster will strike? Are we ready? What else can we do? What could we have done to prevent this or prepare for it?

These are all questions we may be hearing as we start to assist, rebuild and recover from such a horrific disaster. But what difference can a few seconds make? You'll read more in this issue about what you should consider reaching for in those seconds when you are evacuating your home. Whether it's a fire, evacuation, earthquake or other emergency, what you do in those seconds count.

Allow me to give you some reference on what seconds can mean with the right planning:

97,200 - The seconds it takes to train with CERT
14,400 - The seconds it takes to create a basic emergency preparedness kit
      30 - The seconds it takes to assess a patient
      15 - The seconds it takes to grab your emergency kit and leave your home
    2 - The seconds it takes to check capillary refill

Seconds make a difference and YOU make a difference. You have taken on the challenge of training as a Community Emergency Response Team member. Make sure the seconds in your day keep you prepared for any emergency.

So You Thought You Had a Busy Weekend!

By Bob Applegate
RBCERTAA Vice President Mike Grady leads a relatively quiet life. But once a month he travels out to the desert to volunteer with Rescue 3, an organization of medics who provide medical support for motorcycle races. As a former racer, Mike is well aware of the risks involved in this sport.

Our day started early - we left Redondo Beach at 4:45am. The race was to start at 9:00am in the Red Mountain area, about 155 miles north of L.A. The race is organized, but with plenty of chaos as the riders race across the desert at high speeds. One expects trauma when assisting at an event like this.

Broken Pelvis

We were stationed right near the start, since that's where a lot of accidents happen. We quickly got our first patient - a 17 year-old boy with a possible fractured femur. These are always worrisome due to the proximity of the femoral artery, and can be life-threatening. After assessing the patient, the EMTs from Rescue 3 felt that the femur wasn't broken, but that there might be a hairline fracture and recommended transport to the hospital. His father concurred.

Next we headed out across the desert looking for a rider/patient that had been reported with a broken wrist. The locations of out patients were rarely precise - "about a mile from checkpoint three" is what we had to go on. The good news was that the race course was known, but not always easy to spot. The dust clouds usually told us where the riders were. As we approached the reported location, we kept an eye out. With all the small ravines and brush, it was easy to miss even a standing rider.

We saw him near the course, but we soon realized that this injured rider wasn't OUR injured rider! Mike skillfully determined that he seemed capable of continuing the race. Not long thereafter we reached our rider. He appeared to have a broken wrist and Mike quickly immobilized the wrist with a short splint and a triangle bandage. We took the rider back to the Rescue 3 command post.

Later that afternoon we heard that a rider at the Rescue 3 command post had a suspected aortal tear and that the Rescue 3 team had ordered a helicopter for his immediate transportation. The patient appeared to be bleeding into his chest cavity. The mechanism of injury was that in falling, his motorcycle had landed on his stomach. If the rate of bleeding increased significantly he could be dead in a few moments. Time was of the essence!

Chopper Take-off

We identified a location near the center where a helicopter could land. A BLM (Bureau of Land Management) crew had arrived on the scene and they watered down the dirt in anticipation of the approaching helicopter's prop wash. It took the helicopter about 20 minutes to arrive on scene from the time it was requested. After a brief reassessment, the patient was loaded onto the helicopter for transport.

We began our long journey home. It felt great to sit down and relax as Mike started the drive home. About 10 minutes later we spotted a rider about 30 feet off the road, without his bike. That's not normal. He waved at us, but there was something plaintive about they way he waved, so we stopped. He'd fallen off his bike, had difficulty Bob in desert

breathing, probably had fractured ribs, and had an altered level of consciousness. The patient was in respiratory distress and needed oxygen immediately. Mike called for an ambulance with oxygen to meet us on the road as we started back towards the command post. A few minutes later, we met up with the ambulance. High-flow oxygen was administered and the patient was placed on a gurney and it was "load and go."

After a total of six patients for the day, we were finally on our way home, this time without interruption. If you want to be prepared to help with post-disaster trauma, assisting at a motorcycle race will certainly help! The racers are lucky to have such a skilled and dedicated team as Rescue 3 and Mike Grady.

Patient Updates: later in the day we found out that the suspected hairline femoral fracture turned out to be a broken pelvis.

The airlifted patient with the suspected AAA (Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm) turned out to have a torn and lacerated Kidney and Liver. He's expected to make a full recovery.

Two days later we found out that the patient with the broken ribs had a compressed lung and that we'd saved his life by finding him and treating him when we did. For more pictures of the event, click here.

Redondo Beach CERT Class #36 Graduates

"Welcome aboard" to the latest class to graduate from the Redondo Beach CERT Academy!

Their graduation exercises were held on October 27th at Redondo Beach Fire Station #2.

Photo courtesy of Marcelle McCullough.

Redondo Beach Firefighter Spotlight

By Bob Applegate (with lots of help from Rick)
Redondo Beach Fire Captain Rick Martinez grew up in the South Bay, attended Lawndale High, El Camino, and then every college in the area that offered fire science classes. He's currently attending Cogswell Polytechnical College, which is the satellite college for the National Fire Academy.

He's been with the RBFD for 28 years. During that time he's served as a Firefighter, Paramedic, Fire Prevention Officer, Arson Investigator, Engineer, Training Officer, Captain, and Acting Division Chief. Prior to working in Redondo, Rick served in the U. S. Coast Guard.

He loves working with the public - "There are many things in this profession that make this more than just a job. I feel blessed that I get to work with some truly great people, I love the varied challenges that we face on a day to day basis, but by far the best part of this job is the interface with the public. There is great satisfaction in helping someone in need and it has also been an honor to be part of the CERT program for all these years."

He's not a man to trifle with; one of his hobbies is martial arts. He has a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and he currently trains in Krav Maga (Israeli combat fighting system) and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He also enjoys coaching his daughter's club soccer team. Rick's happily married (22 years), with two stepsons, one daughter and one German Shepherd.

He's preparing a Hazmat Awareness class for the USAR members and once this training has been completed he'll ask Chief Madrigal to apply to OES [state Office of Emergency Services] to certify the team as a Type 4 USAR. In addition to this he hopes to be involved in the training for our successful defense of the BICEPP [Business and Industry Council for Emergency Planning and Preparedness] championship.

From Captain Rick: "As many of you know, I will be retiring in two to three years. I must admit that as the time gets closer the stranger it seems. On one hand I am looking forward to it, but on the other hand I will truly miss this amazing career. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my career is the 10 plus years with CERT (You guys are great)! Thanks for all you have given me."

Hang around the RBCERTAA board members and you'll quickly realize the esteem with which they hold Rick Martinez. They're passionate supporters of Rick. You don't come by this type of loyalty easily - it's earned. Thanks Rick, for all that you've given the CERT team in Redondo!

Volunteer Opportunities

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

Communications Committee
The Communication Committee is looking for help with graphics for the website. A little help with Photoshop would be greatly appreciated! Anyone with HTML experience is also invited!

Equipment Committee
The Equipment Committee needs volunteers to pull the trailer and display the equipment when 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 can email Sandy Marchese at SRedondoBeach@aol.com or leave a message on the RBCERT Hotline at 310-217-7682.

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)!

RBCERTAA Website Gets Major Overhaul

By Bob Applegate
After a great deal of effort on the part of the Communications Committee, RBCERTAA is proud to announce the availability of the newly revamped RBCERTAA website.

The website's interface has been streamlined, with new and improved functionality.

Our former site received many accolades and had a very special place in our heart, as it was designed by past RBCERTAA President Randy Stacy and maintained graciously by Valerie Heath for many years. We hope that our new format will do honor to those that set the standard for RBCERTAA online.

Please, take a moment to visit the new site at RBCERTAA.org. Many thanks to Bob Kumler from the RBCERTAA board and Herb Stark of PVNET for all their hard work in bringing this project to fruition! This is just the beginning - we expect over the next few months to continue improving the site. Please feel free to let us know what features you'd like included!

Safety Fair & Police Department Open House

By Bob Applegate
The annual Redondo Beach Safety Fair and Police Department Open House was a big success, as usual. The RBCERTAA booth was there, with a number of RB CERT alumni in attendance.

The fully loaded RBCERTAA trailer was on display, along with an extensive exhibit of emergency response equipment. Shown in the photo at left are CERT members Bob Kumler, Sandy Marchese, Garth McWhorter and Mike Grady.

Marc's "Stupid" List (Adrenalin is Not Our Friend)

By Marc Vetri
Marc Headshot

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

It was a spectacularly beautiful Saturday morning in the Marina. The Santa Anna's were blowing and a few friends and I were just about to begin our ride along the bike path in Marina del Rey when KABOOOM! The air shook with a blast, instantaneously replaced by a cacophony of wailing car alarms. My friends excitedly deduced it was an earthquake. I disagreed, thinking it had to be an explosion because it had been a single jolt and nothing anywhere was swinging or swaying; there had been no back and forth movement. I said the only way it could have been a quake was if it was directly beneath us. We were all correct; there had been a moderate quake two miles offshore.

Returning home that afternoon I decided it would be a great day to go through my disaster gear. It had probably been over a year since I had last dragged it all out and checked batteries, rotated rations, refreshed stored water and re-familiarized myself with the ever-growing contents of my bags, cases and containers of disaster and medical gear.

Once I started working I realized I had a ton of stuff and had the idea that I'd better make some sense of all these supplies. I started with a simple prioritized list of things to do, to check for and grab in the event that the big KABOOOM! was a real emergency, leaving me precious seconds to escape from an unsafe damaged home or possibly just minutes to get into action and be able to help my less fortunate neighbors.
Stupid List

While working on this written worksheet I kept in mind what a teacher had once said "adrenaline makes us dumb." When startled, as when a sudden emergency or disaster strikes, our brain's automatic primal instincts kick in and our bodies are flooded with several "stress" hormones, epinephrine (adrenalin) among them, as the fight-or-flight response is activated. This physiological response is designed to prepare us physically and is not conducive to clear, logical thinking. I realized that a simple, one page, A, B, C, D-type prioritized to-do list could be key in a critical situation. I tried to develop a well thought out personalized protocol, a flowchart that accounted for different "what if" scenarios. I called it my "Stupid" List.

I jotted things down like: put on shoes, take a deep breath, check for family members, injuries, fire or water damage to the house, natural gas leaks etc. I went on to prioritize what to check for and what gear and supplies to grab out of each room, assigning duties to each family member in great detail depending upon the scenario.

What if there is no apparent damage to the house, or maybe some minor damage to the house, or the house is on fire or partially collapsed? Shut off utilities or not? Where is the best place to mobilize? The garage? The front door? What does the neighborhood look like? Is the neighbor's house on fire? Where are the dogs? Secure pets in a safe place! What is the scale of the event? Turn on AM radio and scanner. Do we stay put or pack the vehicle? Where would we go? What is the order that these important decisions need to be made? You get the idea.

Another flowchart 6a again

The time to do this critical thinking is now, rather than in the dark with the smell of natural gas looming and sirens and car alarms blaring. I spent many subsequent evenings thinking things through and revising my "Stupid" List. Try to imagine and work through different responses for earthquakes, fires, explosions, chemical and biological events and even civil unrest. Think about short and long-term events. The idea is just to work through your step-by-step initial response the best you can and spend some time working out the details and logical steps that would best keep you and yours out of the victim count.

Not too many weeks later I found myself jolted awake, face down on the living room floor under the oak coffee table with books and pictures falling down around me, in the dark with a trembling flashlight shining upon my stupid list. It was 4:31am, January 17th 1994. It was a very scary start to a very busy day for everyone involved. A previously-undiscovered blind thrust fault produced the strongest ground motions ever recorded in an urban setting in North America. Damage was wide-spread in the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica areas. Seventy-two people died, over 11,000 people were injured, nine hospitals (2500 beds) were closed and 22,000 people were made homeless in an instant. The earthquake caused an estimated $44 billion in damage, making the Northridge earthquake one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.

_________________________

RBCERTAA Contest - The Best User-Submitted "Stupid" List Wins a $40 Gift Certificate From Major Surplus and Survival!

Email your "stupid" list entry for a chance to win a $40 gift certificate from Major Surplus and Survival. Entries due 2/22/08. Contest rules/sample lists, click here.

Events Calendar

2/5 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

2/7 CERT Academy #37 Starts

CPR and first aid recertification classes for CERT alumni are:
2/21 - CPR class
2/28 - First aid class

Please contact Diane Hon at Redondo Beach Fire Department at Diane.Him@redondo.org 310-318-0663 x1-4336 to register (at no cost) for the CPR and/or First Aid Classes so that we have an accurate head count.

2/20 Redondo Beach Public Safety Commission

7:00PM City Council Chambers.This is a great opportunity to stay in touch with the city plans and efforts of the Public Safety Commission to make Redondo Beach a safer community. Have your voice heard and attend this valuable monthly meeting.

2/25 Mayor Mike Gin's Presentation at the Redondo Beach State of the City Breakfast

7:30AM at Crowne Plaza Redondo Beach located at 300 N. Harbor Dr. Fee is $35. Register through the Redondo Beach Chamber of Commerce website or call 310-376-6911.

2008 CERT Academy Dates Announced

The 2008 training schedule for the Redondo Beach CERT Academy has just been announced. The dates are:

Feb 7 to Mar 29, 2008
Jun 5 to Jul 26, 2008
Sep 4 to Oct 25, 2008

Training is held at the Redondo Beach Main Library. Classes meet every Thursday, 6:30pm - 9:30pm. The fee is $40 per person. Minimum age is 18. A downloadable application for the class may be found here.

Preparedness Tip of the Month

By Bob Applegate
Let's talk about food - it's probably the first thing folks think about when they think about preparedness supplies. The tough part is deciding how many weeks' worth of food to store. The standard "three days" answer given by many is not enough. I'd recommend that that you start with three WEEKS, and then add on as you can.

Try to keep your food provisions in a cool place, if at all possible. Heat reduces the storage life of all foods. Other things to consider:

1. Buy foods that you actually like to eat. While desperation may make anything taste better, you'll want to rotate your food occasionally, the best way is to eat it, then replace what you've eaten. It's a lot harder to do if you don't like the way the food tastes.

2. Make sure your supplies include a good balance of foods. Vegetables, fruit, meats, main courses, sweets for the kids.

3. Canned goods are best for long shelf-life. No matter what you buy, check the expiration date on the can, carton, etc. This is usually displayed as "Best by..." followed by a date. A one year shelf-life should probably be your minimum. However, if you're continually rotating through and replacing your supplies, then a shorter shelf-life is OK. Cans are great because they usually come with all the water you need to use the product (chili, certain soups, beans, fruit, etc.). On the other hand, if you have to carry them anywhere [as during an evacuation], all the water in those cans makes them very heavy.

4. MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) are a good source of food. Originally designed for the military as a field ration, these self-contained meals have everything you could ask for - main course, side dish, cracker or bread, spread, dessert, beverage powder, utensils and accessories (chewing gum, matches, toilet paper...). They have a great shelf-life (3+ years), come in many varieties, but are expensive (approx. $6 ea.) and somewhat heavy.

5. Mainstay emergency food rations have a five-year shelf life, are compact, relatively inexpensive ($3.50 for a 1200 calorie bar), non-thirst provoking and have a pleasant taste.

6. Two good sources for emergency foodstuffs are Emergency Essentials or Nitro-Pak. They have a very large selection of foods in various forms.

7. If the power goes out, eat the food in the refrigerator and freezer first.

8. Consider including a camping stove among your emergency supplies. A hot meal will taste great and help keep morale up after a long day of digging through the rubble! But that's a topic for another month!

We have an advantage over some states. Disasters are almost normal here - earthquakes and wildfires are fairly common for us. We are often reminded how things can change so quickly in our lives. The key is preparedness! The tsunami drill scheduled for February 20th is a very rare opportunity for us to aggressively test our response capability. What we learn from this exercise WILL save lives and your help is needed to make this event a total success!

Thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter.

Bob Applegate
Newsletter Editor
Redondo Beach CERT Alumni Association