The Green Girl Is A Long Beach CERT Graduate

The Green Girl graduated from the Long Beach Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program today.

For our final class, we had to go through a simulated natural disaster drill that required us to combine all the skills we'd learned during the CERT Level I Training.

The scenario we were given was a 7.6 magnitude earthquake. We were instructed to follow the Incident Command System (ICS) principles. Following this methodology, the first individual on the scene was appointed the Incident Commander (IC) and was responsible for overseeing the entire operation.


The IC immediately designated an Operations Section Chief, Logistics Section Chief, Planning Section Chief, and Administration Section Chief. The Operations Section Chief proceeded to identify a Fire Suppression Leader, Search and Rescue Group Leader, and Medical Group Leader.

Search and Rescue entering a building that has been deemed safe to enter

I was a part of the Search and Rescue team so we proceeded to do a 'Hot Lap' around a building to determine if it was safe to enter.

We used the 'right hand in, left hand out' method to systematically enter and exit the building.

When we found victims, we used The Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment (START) system to triage multiple victims in 30 seconds or less by checking Respiration, Perfusion, and Mental Status (RPM) to identify them as Minor (green), Delayed (yellow), Immediate (red), or Deceased (black).

One of the victims I assisted out of the building we bleeding profusely from his upper arm so I had to hold the extremity above the heart while applying constant pressure.

Fire Suppression team extinguishing a liquid fire

Once we felt confident we had helped all the victims out of the building, we headed over to another structure.

On the way, we spotted a liquid fire near the second building so we alerted the Operations Section Chief so the Fire Suppression team could be notified.

Triaging a shock victim that has been marked 'Immediate' (red)

We didn't find any more victims so the Operations Section Chief told us to go to Triage to assist the Medical Group.

The Medical Group Leader asked me to triage an Immediate (red) victim. It was a woman who appeared to be in shock.

I tried to check her Respiration, Perfusion, and Mental Status (RPM), but she was not able to respond. I requested additional materials to elevate her feet.

The Green Girl receiving her CERT backpack

Even though it was a simulated disaster, the victims did an excellent job playing their respective parts and creating a sense of chaos. I was able to feel the gravity of the situation as I heard victims calling out for help and crying for their missing loved ones.

At one point, a victim even escaped from Triage and tried to head back into a building to look for her children.

After the exercise, we received a certificate of completion, official CERT cards, and a CERT backpack containing CERT supplies.

Now the Green Girl has her very own green CERT safety hard hat, leather gloves, safety goggles, rubber gloves, EMS Vital Stats Notebook, gauze bandage rolls, Long Beach Community Emergency Response Team vest, and mask.

The Green Girl's Motivational Collage

The Green Girl decided the time had come to update her Motivational Collage again.

The first time I created a motivational collage was for a couple of SparkPeople challenges. One activity involved assembling a visual college. The other was the creation of a visual motivator.

As a visual person, I took it upon myself to combine the two activities into a single collage. I felt my visions were synonymous with my motivators.

After I created my first collage, I printed it out on sticky paper and stuck it in places where I felt it would hold the most significance for me.

My updated collage reflects the following:

• Complete the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training
• Say Goodbye
• Get Cisco certified (again)
• Complete the Athens Classic Marathon

I like how the collage serves as a constant reminder of my objectives. The visual helps keep me accountable and focused on my goals.

As I reach the milestones, I get a certain sense of satisfaction from being able to remove the completed items.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training

The Green Girl is currently enrolled in her local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program.

The CERT concept was developed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) to establish a well-trained civilian emergency work force.

The LAFD created the Disaster Preparedness Division to develop, train, and maintain a network of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). This program is open to all citizens.

As of January 2004, 50 states, three territories and six foreign countries are using the CERT training.

The CERT training covers basic disaster response skills:

CERT Level 1 Syllabus

   Unit 1: Introduction/Disaster Preparedness
   Unit 2: Fire Safety
   Unit 3: Disaster Medical Operations—Part 1/2
   Unit 4: Light Search and Rescue Operations
   Unit 5: CERT Organization/Disaster Psychology
   Unit 6: Terrorism and CERT
   Unit 7: Course Review & Disaster Simulation

Last night, for Unit 4, we had to assess a building and if we deemed it safe to search, enter and look for victims while checking for hazards.

The exercise really demonstrated the importance of teamwork and good communication because we had to describe what we were processing to the person behind us so they wouldn't trip or get injured in the dark.

We also had to routinely report back to the Incident Coordinator with victim counts and any possible hazards we'd identified.

I had my Petzl Tikka Plus Headlamp with me as my emergency light source. I was surprised to see how much brighter it was relative to all the other flashlights. A few people noticed the brightness and asked me what it was.

The second drill was to rescue a hose victim that was trapped under a car by lifting the car by using a lever and fulcrum.

I monitored the hose victim's vitals while our team worked together to lift the car.

When the car was raised, it took four of us to pull the heavy hose victim out from under the vehicle.

I immediately saw that one of his legs had been severed so I quickly put pressure on his groin to stop the bleeding.

Next week, we will be having a 'Disaster Dinner' and I volunteered to bring Vienna Sausages for the feast.

Below is a short video clip of me putting out a fire during a Unit 2 exercise.