CERT

Horrible picture, but this is a pic of me that was taken at the event

(This post is for you, Uncle Rick!)

A few months back I signed up to be on Beaverton's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). There was an 8 week (22 hour) course that I had to complete, but now I am a certified CERT member! The purpose of CERT is to teach members of the community how to be beneficial in times of crisis. Earthquake, volcano, terrorist attack, etc. There are 10,000 people in Beaverton, and only 900 cops/firemen/EMTs. There are over 1,000 CERT members and we are trained (lightly but efficiently) in search and rescue, triage, cribbing (lifting heavy walls using levers and fulcrums), and fire extinguishing, among other things. 

This past Saturday was CERT Mayday. 200 CERT volunteers all showed up at the Tualatin Valley Fire Training Facility in Sherwood where we participated in a 6.5 hour long drill. There were dozens of victims dressed in full moulage and the entire day we got to practice how we would respond in a real life crisis. (The scenario was that a gas main exploded and an entire neighborhood, including an apartment building was on fire.) As a Ham Radio Operator, I got to be on the Communications Team. I got to work with medical first, then search and rescue (SAR). I was on SAR Team 3, and my job was to communicate with the SAR Command Team back at the Incident Command Center (or Headquarters). It is through this communication that our team knows what we are to do next, and to relay the information back (house on fire, 4 victims in critical condition, etc) so they can send us more resources if we need it. 

Funny story: when I was talking on the radio I'd say "SAR 3 to SAR Command" and "Affirmative SAR Command". I felt like I was talking to Buzz Lightyear!

On our lunch break, a life flight helicoptetor came and landed. We got to hear how we can be beneficial to the Life Flight crew if they ever came and landed where we were helping out. We got to look inside the chopper and see how the gurney worked. It was so cool!

At the end of the day, I was the team lead for a group of 14. Our task was to rescue a victim (a fire hose in the shape of a human) that was crushed under a cement wall, and another wall had fallen on top of that.  We used levers, fulcrums, metal rods, and scrap wood. We built scaffolding at the end of the wall, very carefully lifted the first slab and using the metal rods, rolled it down the scaffolding. It was a long and grueling process but it was so satisfying to successfully lead a team of 14 people that were all at least 10 years older than me. 

At the debrief afterwards, (brag moment that I don't want to forget, so forgive me!) we were talking about how the day went. The guys that were in charge were up front mentioning what went well, and what didn't go so well. The head guy was talking and he said "Kimberly, where are you?" I raised my hand and referring to something earlier in the day he said "I was so impressed when you and how you handled that. Good job for stepping up to the plate when you felt it wasn't being handled well." He continued to praise me for a minute or two, then went on to praise other teams. But to be the only individual picked out of the crowd made me feel pretty good! 

I love being a CERT volunteer, and being able to help out in the community. Even if it's just volunteering to monitor a public event like a parade or an event at the Library, I love feeling like I can actively help my community. Even more importantly, if/when a natural disaster does occur, I hope I can use my skills to make a difference in my home, and my neighborhood. I definitely couldn't do this without the support of my family, and I am SO blessed that Sean and my boys are so happy to support me in this new found hobby of mine!