CERT Program Year End Report - Clallam County Fire District 3 Outreach/CERT Program/CERT … ·...

2016-2017

Prepared by Blaine Zechenelly ,

Pat Baxter and Linda Enger for

Clallam County Fire District #3

2016-2017

CERT Program Year End Report

Clallam County Fire District 3 and 4 (CCFD3/CCFD4) Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

2017 End of Year Program Review

CCFD3 CERT Tier 2 2017 Program Review Page 1 of 41

Goal

Develop and Maintain Fully Operational CERT Tier 2 teams capable of performing their pre-assigned Agency objectives/missions/tasks.

Examples:

1. Type IV Urban Search and Rescue (USAR- Light) 2. Minimal Fire Fighting 3. Disaster Medical Operations (Triage, Treatment, & Transport) 4. Field Communications 5. Command and Control (ICS) 6. Traffic Control or Logistics Support

Definitions

CERT Tier 2 Team Member – Graduate of CERT course, badged, directed by Fire Agency and deployable with the Fire Department.

CERT Tier 2 Team

• Must have 10 members minimum • Meet Type IV USAR (Light) requirements (Fire scope) • Reports to Fire District or a sponsoring agency (agency is responsible for team – welfare,

deployment, supervision, logistical support) • Members must complete CERT Basic Academy • Must meet monthly to train and maintain skills • Members will complete additional levels of training • Deploys in assigned division (micro-island/neighborhood)

Type IV USAR

Represents the minimum capability to conduct safe and effective search and rescue operations at incidents involving non-structural entrapment. Personnel at this level shall be competent at surface rescue that involves minimal removal of debris and building contents to extricate easily accessible victims from damaged, non-collapsed structures.




Background and Philosophy

The CCFD3/CCFD4 CERT Tier 2 program is based on two key elements:

1. Systems based approach to processes

2. The unique threats associated with our community

The systems based approach is comprised of building blocks of community awareness of threats, as well as neighborhood and community volunteerism. Our awareness effort improves the readiness of our citizens to be self-reliant for 30 days, lowers the demand for services in an actual disaster, and forms the basis for individuals to volunteer and serve in a neighborhood capacity in programs such as Map Your Neighborhood (MYN), CERT, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES) or Red Cross/Shelters.

Clallam County faces many threats that can impact our community both in short term (days) and long term (months to years). Short term threats are road closures (motor vehicle accidents, hazmat spills, winter storms, downed power lines, etc.), fires, shootings, power outages, wind damage, and flooding. Long term threats are earthquakes, wild land fires, and landslides. Long term threats often limit ability of the community to respond and/or receive “mutual aid” from other jurisdictions (counties, state and federal) due to damaged infrastructure such as ports, roads, bridges, utilities and communications. Our greatest threat, although not our most common event, is a major 9.0+ Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake which drastically damages roads, buildings, infrastructure and leaves a significant number of casualties in the community, while denying the ability to obtain “mutual aid” from other jurisdictions.

What is Preparedness

Volunteer CERT, VIP, Shelters,

Communication

Ba a part of Map Your

Neighborhodd

Be Self Reliant




Preparedness lowers the immediate demand of services and materials stemming from a disaster; ensures and develops plans and resources for vulnerable/fragile population; and enhances individual awareness and preparation for long term survivability.

What is Response

Response is a series of steps necessary to re-establish community normalcy. The elements of response change with time after the event occurs. In the first week after an event, there are generally five elements:

1. Command and Control 2. Communications and Assessment 3. Life Safety (Medical Care, Search and Rescue) 4. Lifelines (Transportation Corridors) 5. Mass Care

CERT addresses Life Safety and Search/Rescue operations. The CCFD3/CCFD4 CERT Tier 2 program is designed to foster a high-performance neighborhood team which supports Damage Assessments, Search and Rescue, Basic First Aid, and Communications to command/control.

How is Preparedness Accomplished

Preparedness in our community is done through a series of community outreach efforts to small groups of people in homes or hundreds of people in large meeting rooms.

Cascadia Impact Presentation (30-45 Minutes)

Clallam County Fire District 3’s Assistant Chief Dan Orr and Blaine Zechenelly conduct a detailed discussion of:

1. The worst threat the community is facing 2. Planning done for this level and how it can be scaled back to meet other threats 3. Impacts to community and their homes, workplaces and schools 4. How FD 3/4 are meeting this threat and what help is coming 5. How community can help by volunteering, training and preparing for 30 days on their own

Camping in Your House (45 Minutes)

Jim Buck, a retired State Representative and Joyce Emergency Planning and Preparedness (JEPP) member, describes how to shelter in your own home after a disaster:

1. How to make your house weather tight again 2. Clean-up and Sanitation 3. Sleeping accommodations and warmth 4. Food and Water 5. Lighting and Power




Map your Neighborhood (MYN - 60 Minutes)

Clallam County Emergency Management Division’s (EMD) Penny Linterman and Jayme Wisecup present how neighbors can prepare for what to do during the first 90 minutes after the disaster:

1. Pre-map and establish contacts with all your neighbors 2. Identify who may need additional assistance (health, children, disabilities, etc.) 3. Identify neighborhood resources (generators; fuel; tools; chain saws etc.) and skills (nurses;

doctors; firefighter; police; social workers; etc.) 4. Establish six simple steps to secure and check on neighbors 5. Encourage a cache of emergency supplies for 30 days to be on your own 6. Identify other volunteer opportunities

Community Booth

The booth is set up at various events to educate citizens on earthquakes. Staffed by volunteers, the booth incorporates a video about earthquakes and preparedness, seven educational panel displays, and CERT promotional information on:

1. What is the earthquake threat in the Northwest? 2. Where are the faults? 3. Expected damage from a 9.0 Cascadia quake 4. What does it mean to Eastern Clallam County? 5. Compare to Alaska’s 1964 9.0 quake 6. What is the response plan and what can I do to prepare? 7. What is CERT? How do I join?

In 2017, the booth was a part of the Elks Club 4th of July Event in Sequim, Joyce Daze, Jefferson County‘s Preparedness Picnic, and the Grange Safety Fair in Carlsborg. The plan for 2018 is to double the number of events.




Presentation to Authorities (30 to 120 minutes)

Clallam County Fire District 3 (Dan Orr & Blaine Zechenelly) along with Jim Buck conducted briefings for elected officials, government agencies and legislative committees. Each is an enhanced Cascadia Impact Presentation tailored to the specific entity, providing a more in-depth assessment of the problem and the specific actions needed. 2017 Presentations included:

1. Public Utility District of Clallam County 2. City of Sequim 3. City of Forks 4. City of Port Angeles 5. Port of Port Angeles 6. U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer’s Office 7. State Representatives Chapman’s and Walsh’s Offices 8. 3 State Senate Committees; State Senate Majority Leader; State House Minority Leader; 4 State

Senators 9. Fire Commissioners for Clallam Fire Districts 1, 3, and 4 10. Washington State Region 9 Fire Commissioners Association 11. State EMD Director for Washington 12. Pacific Northwest Seismic Network University of Washington 13. Ruckelshaus Institute of Washington State and University of Washington Evans School of Policy

and Governance 14. Alaska Power and Light located in Port Townsend 15. Coast Guard Auxiliaries located in Sequim and Port Townsend




Other Outreach Activities

Clallam County Fire District 3, JEPP, Jim Buck, and Clallam County EMD presented the preparedness message at various activities. These included:

• Public Service Announcements (KSQM, KONP, Sequim Gazette, Peninsula Daily News) by CCFD 3 Asst. Chief Dan Orr and Blaine Zechenelly, Jim Buck (JEPP), and Penny Linterman (Clallam EMD).

• Faith Based Community meeting hosted by CCFD 3 Asst. Chief Dan Orr • Service Club Presentation by CCFD 3 Asst. Chief Dan Orr and Blaine Zechenelly, along with

JEPP’s Jim Buck • News Articles with Seattle Times, Sequim Gazette, and Peninsula Daily News • Radio Interviews with KONP and KSQM • Television Interviews with KING 5

June 2016 to December 2017 Presentation Data

17 Cascadia Impact Presentations

5 “Camping in Your House”

14 “Map Your Neighborhoods”

4 Road Show Booths

25 Presentations to Authorities/Agencies

12 Faith Based Meetings

2 Service Club Presentations

5 JEPP Activities

Fire District 4, through the above activities, reached 350 people which is 10% of the community (3,649 individuals). Fire District 3, through the above activities, reached 2,500 people which is 7% of the community (36,558 individuals).

How Response is Accomplished - Search and Rescue

Effective Search and Rescue after a Cascadia event requires Map Your Neighborhood, CERT, Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement to seamlessly integrate within a smooth flowing process to optimize resources and maximize response. Each component is a building block in a complete system of effective results.




Map Your Neighborhood

Trained MYN members complete the following objectives:

• Turn off utilities in the neighborhood to prevent fires • Check on the welfare of each other • Extinguish small fires • Pool resources to solve problems • Assess Help/Okay Status of the neighborhood • Determine where help by Emergency Services is needed

This effort provides the base for all emergency operations as it stabilizes a neighborhood and rapidly completes an assessment of their needs.

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT Tier 2)

After a disaster, trained CERT Tier 2 Units will provide the community with first contact by emergency services. Specifically, CERT Tier 2 Units will:

• perform wide area neighborhood searches using MYN intelligence of what is damaged and what help is needed

• search light to moderately damaged homes in pre-assigned neighborhoods • NOT enter heavily damaged homes, but report the need for a Fire Unit search to the Division

Incident Command Post (ICP) • assist injured, provide basic first aid, clear trapped survivors and communicate an assessment

of the neighborhood to command

As the disaster progresses, CERT Tier 2 units may be re-tasked to perform other missions besides search and rescue.

Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement

This provides the third component in our response. Fire, EMS and Law Enforcement units could provide advanced medical treatment, advanced search and rescue, larger public and commercial structure searches, major fire suppression, and command /control.

How CERT Tier 2 Teams Are Developed

The CERT Tier 2 program is specifically designed to address the challenges of this event by providing community capability for Light Search and Rescue activities. This is especially important given the limited number of professional responders. 35,000 homes and all public buildings need to be checked for entrapped survivors, and there is a limited period for survival. This process repeats with each new aftershock.




New CERTs are recruited by “word of mouth” from current CERT members and community awareness activities. Volunteers participate in a 25-hour basic academy held over three Saturdays. Candidates are then assigned to neighborhood based teams tasked to provide search and rescue services. These teams act as an adjunct and force multiplier to existing emergency services and are treated as an extension of the fire department.

Each member must pass a background check and is then provided with a Washington State Emergency Service Worker identification, State disability insurance and liability protection.

While the program includes all aspects of FEMA CERT, it exceeds minimum requirements in several ways to meet our unique community needs. First, we form teams to cover the various neighborhoods, establish team leadership, and assign new members accordingly. Teams continue training monthly to maintain skills required for Type IV Urban Search and Rescue standards. CERT Tier 2 teams will have specific assigned missions, pre-established plans, assembly areas, equipment sets, search areas and leadership.

To achieve high-performance CERT Tier 2 units capable of operating independently in an environment of limited communications and professional responders, we have implemented four key actions:

• Enhanced the Basic CERT Course from FEMA • Implemented a Team Formation Strategy • Established program management Leadership, Processes and Support • Required ongoing Exercises and Drills to maintain skills and abilities

Enhanced Basic CERT Course

CERTs that meet the unique needs for their community’s threats are a key component of the response process. In Clallam County we need the ability to address a Cascadia event where outside mutual aid is either unavailable or will be significantly delayed. This environment creates the need for CERT to be more than the standard FEMA based program that most of the country uses.

Clallam County Fire District 3, as the lead sponsoring agency, established an enhanced CERT Academy that includes Basic CERT skills and Type IV Urban Search and Rescue skills. Enhancement specifics include:

• Meet Cascadia threat in each community • Train to a type IV Urban Search and Rescue unit • Enhanced hands-on activities • Increased time from 20 hours to 25 hours • Enhanced video education • Specific three-day flow based on Best Practices • Team based focus on material presented




To date the Academy has trained the following numbers:

• 300 individuals have completed academy • 26 individuals left for various reasons • 264 are assigned to teams • 10 are waiting assignment to a team (not enough for a team in their area as of this date)

CERT Tier 2 Team Formation

To maximize the benefit of groups working in teams, CCFD3 assigns members to specific teams that will train and work in a structured manner. Teams are formed as follows:

• Organize CERTS into specific neighborhood based teams which are expandable • Badge members as Emergency Service Workers with Liability and Disability coverage • Identify team leadership • Establish Team/Neighborhood Cascadia event Search and Rescue Pre-plans which are reviewed

and approved by the sponsoring agency. • Require monthly meetings/trainings • Train advanced skills that meet Urban Search and Rescue Type IV standards.

Program Management – Support and Leadership

Clallam Fire District 3 provides program leadership and support for CERT Tier 2 units through the following:

• Assignment of Assistant Fire Chief (CCFD 3), Fire Department CERT Program Manager (CCFD 3), CERT Program Manager (CCFD 4), CERT Team Captain as Assistant Program Manager, and CERT Program Administrator

• Quarterly operational review meetings sponsored by CCFD 3 • Program Manager attendance and instruction in monthly team meetings • Sharing by Team Captains of meeting minutes, drills, ideas, and best practices • Policy development • Grant development • Arrangement of facilities for training

Exercises/Drills

CERT Tier 2 units conduct drills to enhance and maintain skills to accomplish their mission. The drills fall into three categories:

• Annual Drills • June 2017 Sequim Community School with eight teams (150 CERTS) and 20 victims to

test multi-casualty operations in a large darkened structure • Communication Drill




• Held in April 2017 (Miller Peninsula) with three teams and September 2017 (Carlsborg/Sequim) with four teams to test teams’ ability to communicate on Family Radio Service (FRS) and amateur radios (HAM).

• Monthly Team Training • Reinforcement of basic skills.

Search and Rescue Disaster Medical Operations Tactical Communications

• Training on advanced skills. Rope Searches Advanced Patient Transport “Stop The Bleed”

Drills – Lessons Learned

Annual (School Drill) (Annual) • First “real world” event for teams (Abandoned, dark and debris strewn) • Effective in bringing teams together as a unit • Squad level skills were strengthened • See After Action Report for more comments (Attachment B) • Student Evaluation Data was extremely positive for the drill

Communications • Results Miller Peninsula

o FRS worked adequately for tactical purposes o One channel strategy per area command can work o Long range HAM radios are required for communications

between an Incident Command Post (ICP)and other CERT teams o Radio relays are needed east of Discovery Bay RV, Thompson

Road and at Miller State Park entrance. o HAM at Station 35 (ICP – Diamond Point) was able to

communicate to Sequim Transit Center Area Command (ACC) • Results Sequim/Carlsborg

o Family Radio Service worked as tactical radio o Bell Hill FRS radios due to their elevation was able to reach a

wide area o Additional practice is needed by all teams to master

communications. o All teams were able to communicate with Area Command 5

(ACC 5) in Sequim with HAM radio.




Funding for CERT Tier 2

Grants

September 2016 thru December 2017 the CERT program in CCFD 3 received the following:

• Safeco Insurance Grant $2,000 for Personal Protective Equipment • Salmon Derby 2016 $3,000 for Personal Protective Equipment • Salmon Derby 2017 $3,500 for CERT Team 8 Gardiner for Shipping Container • Salmon Derby 2017 $1,500 for Medical Supplies for CERT 2 Diamond Point • Homeland Security Grant* $3,000 for CERT Program (used for Protective Equipment) • First Federal Grant 2017 $6,500 for CERT equipment (PPE, Medical & Hand Tools) • City of Sequim Grant $10,000 to develop CERT teams in City of Sequim • Citizen Donations $300 Gifts by citizens to the program

*via 20% share of the Clallam County Grant for Community Preparedness Programs

This represents total funds of $29,800 as of December 31st, 2017, of which:

• $3,000 was Federal Government, • $10,000 was Local Government • $16,800 was private community funds.

100% was spent on equipment, equipment storage, and medical supplies.

The program is continuously looking for funding opportunities, and has grant applications underway for 2018 Homeland Security Funds, Service Club grants, and private foundation grants.

In Kind Sponsors

These organizations have donated use of their facilities, utilities, copying services, and kitchen services for CERT activities:

• Bell Hill Homeowner’s Association • Clallam County Fire District 3 • Clallam County Fire District 4 • City of Sequim • Dungeness Community Church • Gardiner Community Center • Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Red Cedar Hall • Sequim Community Church • St. Luke’s Episcopal Church • Sunland – The Gathering Place




• The Joyce Grange • The Sequim Prairie Grange • Thomas Lumber & Littlejohn – Excavation Work of CERT Shipping Container for Gardiner

Recognition of Key Individuals to the Program

• Clallam County Fire District 3 (CCFD 3) o Fire Commissioners – James Barnfather, Michael Gawley, and Steve Chinn o Chief Ben Andrews – support and the primary sponsoring agency o Assistant Chief Dan Orr – CERT Director o EMT Blaine Zechenelly – CERT Program Manager o Fire Fighter Scotty Robinson – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Fire Fighter/Paramedic Kolby Konopaski – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Fire Fighter Sam Orr – CERT Basic Academy Coach o EMT Brandon Tucker – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Fire Fighter Lee Oman – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Captain Mary Dee Countrym – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Firefighter Steve Miller – CERT Basic Academy Coach o Firefighter/EMT Donald Johnson – CERT Basic Academy Coach

• Clallam County Fire District 4 o Chief Alex Baker – support as the secondary sponsoring agency

• Volunteers o Program Management

Blaine Zechenelly – CERT Program Manager Pat Baxter – CERT Program Manager & CERT 1 Captain Linda Enger – CERT Assistant Program Manager and CERT 6 Captain Cindy Zechenelly – CERT Coordinator & Administration

o CERT Basic Academy Instructors Blaine Zechenelly – CERT Instructor Pat Baxter – CERT Instructor Linda Enger – CERT Instructor Donna Buck – CERT Instructor Joel Ogden – CERT Instructor

o Subject Matter Experts Nancy McGovern – CERT 3 Retired State Representative Jim Buck Penny Linterman – Clallam County Emergency Management Division – Map

Your Neighborhood o CERT Captains

Pat Baxter – CERT 1 Michael McComb – CERT 2 Charlie Meyer – CERT 3 Susan Pressman – CERT 4




Don Baron – CERT 5 Linda Enger – CERT 6 Art Dewey – CERT 7 Dick Bennett – CERT 8 CERT 9 In Process of developing (50% strength) Francisco de la Cruz – CERT 10 John Viada – CERT 11

Benefits

The CERT Tier 2 program provides multiple benefits to various community stakeholders:

Community

• Affords lower potential loss of life • Is scalable to lesser events than 9.0+ Cascadia Earthquake • Can be acccessed by the community for

o Disaster Assistance o Security o Information

• Provides local presence • Knows the community • Strengthens relationship between professional emergency responders and CERT/Citizen teams • Performs secondary missions of food, water, and supply distribution, traffic control, basic first

aid, etc. • Creates a sense of community

Fire Commissioners

• Enhances ability to complete the missions of the Fire districts • Bridges to professional responders • Force multiplier in overwhelming demand • It is cost effective

Other Authorities

• Mitigates disasters– lives, injury, property • Provides situational awareness • Conducts damage assessment • Demonstrates integration of a comprehensive response plan




Volunteer Hours and Valuation Area Task Hours Value Administrative 1,660 $40,083 Coordinate Class/Calendar/Mtg. 600 14,484 ID/Background Check 540 13,046 Questions from Public/Misc. 520 12,553 Program Manager 260 $6,277 Class Preparation 84 2,028 Year End Report 112 2,704 Public Information Preparation 16 386 After Action Report 32 773 Training Development 16 386 Public Education 361 $8,715 Camping in Your House 60 1,448 Cascadia Presentations 76 1,835 Public Agencies Presentations 225 5,431 Programs 10,975 $409,727 CERT Class 8753 211,296 Map Your Neighborhood 104 2,510 Monthly Training 6085 146,892 Quarterly Reviews 84 2,028 Drills/Exercises 1947 47,001 Total 13,256 $464,802

** The estimated value of volunteer time for 2016 is $24.14 per hour, according to Independent Sector, a coalition of charities, foundations, corporations, and individuals that publishes research important to the nonprofit sector.




Conclusions

CCFD 3/CCFD 4 CERT Tier 2 program is a systems-based approach where disparate entities required for emergency response operations work as interrelated components. A review of the collective Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats (S.W.O.T. Analysis) indicates the following:

Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats • Technical

expertise • Communications • Local

government & tribal support

• No succession planning • No classroom, storage,

meeting space • No annual drill site • Not enough volunteers

for 142 sq. miles & 36k+ population

• Lack of HAM operators • Aging CERT population • Med centers, schools

have no disaster plan that integrates with the community

• Limited CERT funds • Limited government

disaster preparedness support

• No formal command agreement between City of Sequim and CCFD 3

• No disaster transportation plan to reestablish lifelines

• No sheltering and spontaneous volunteer plans

• No mass casualty disaster morgue services plan

• Strong City of Sequim support beyond city boundaries

• Leverage relationships with media, Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN), legislators, National Guard, State Emergency Management Department (EMD)

• Leverage community member skills

• Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office (DRMO) support

• Disaster Air Response Team (DART)

• Surrounding counties • Regional Academy • Ruckelshaus Institute

of Government Relations

• National Guard has not allocated medical units to Area Command 5 (over 50% of Clallam County population)

• State policy, disaster processes, coordination of functions

• DRMO support (Priority)




Final Thoughts

In 2018 we expect to expand the coverage area, increase the number of personnel by at least 100, and further improve existing member skillsets.

In sixteen months CCFD 3/CCFD 4 CERT Tier 2 has become a program that is a leader in the state, as recognized by Ruckelshaus Institute and the media.

• Paula Towne, CERT Program Coordinator, Office of the Governor, the State of Washington applauded the program’s June Drill in her June 21st email to Program Managers:

“Great job team! I love the video and will possibly show it at our next CERT class- both our State Agency CERT class and the TTT (Train the Trainer) class.

Looking good up there on the peninsula!”

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHJJaQ8WAbE&feature=youtu.be

We thank everyone who has made this program so successful to this point.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHJJaQ8WAbE&feature=youtu.be




After Action Report June 3, 2017

After Action Report June 3, 2017

Sequim Community School Drill

Prepared By

Blaine Zechenelly, CCFD 3

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cert&view=detailv2&&id=A5D38ACB6B0994A4EADB965A8AB071B2ED3A132B&selectedIndex=0&ccid=vB/k/jy9&simid=608040939324836907&thid=OIP.Mbc1fe4fe3cbd6660d4e68cf14842bde6H0




EMT/FEMA-PDS/Disaster Planner

CERT TIER 2 Drill Held at Sequim Community School

On June 3, 2017

PURPOSE OF THE DRILL – To test CERT Tier 2 team capabilities in a realistic post-Cascadia earthquake scenario.

The Drill's purpose was to simulate a real-world Search & Rescue emergency to help assess the effectiveness of CERT volunteer training programs and introduce CERT participants to some of the ambiguities and special challenges that such emergency situations may entail.

We also wanted to address the two greatest dangers for rescuers in searching a building: disorientation and a change in the structure. To address the former, we created a large darkened environment that participants had never been in, which had multiple rooms and required the use of ropes to conduct search operations. To mitigate some of the risk for purpose of the drill and to substitute for 360 exterior review of the building, floor plans of the building were provided. To address the second issue of change of the structure, an abandoned building drill element of “out, out, out” was added.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES:

Scope:

This emergency drill was limited to a single building with a known floor plan. An actual emergency would likely be much more widespread, beyond the ability of first responders to cover it all in a timely way. An actual emergency on the Peninsula would likely present broad challenges in the areas of transportation, electrical power, water, sanitation, food and shelter. Future Drills may want to address one or more of these larger scoped challenges.

Tasks:




This Drill asked us to form Search and Rescue /Support teams to enter and "clear" a damaged building, find and extricate all "victims", transport victims to triage tarps, offer appropriate first aid to the victims' injuries, and record our actions.

Primary Objectives of the Exercise – Teams are to demonstrate they can conduct the following operations in a safe, effective manner:

• Search for victims • Triage • Rescue and Extractions • Patient Transport from Hazardous area • Initial Treatment

Secondary Objectives of the Exercise – Teams are to demonstrate:

• Effective teamwork • Communications skills internal and external to the teams • Ability to work in a difficult and stressful environment • Critical thinking and creative problem solving • Appropriate documentation

Desired Outcome:

This exercise was designed to expose us to the special problems associated with Search & Rescue, Triage, and Treatment while, always, preserving a high level of safety for the participants. In these desired outcomes, the exercise was viewed as extremely effective by both participants and evaluators.

Data Collection:

Participants and team comments were collected during the exercise, in the exercise debriefing, as well as from comments in each team’s June monthly meeting. The command and staff comments were collected during the exercise stages and through follow-up reports.

Exercise Organization:

The use of the ICS forms and format for planning the exercise allowed seamless set-up, conduct of the drill and tear-down of all props and equipment. There were more than sufficient materials, equipment and personnel to meet the exercise objectives. This drill also had the requirement of making an Incident Action Plan and an After-Action Report. Both were distributed to the teams as part of the required documentation for execution of the drill and lessons learned.




Evaluator & Participant Comment –

“Unfortunately, several search areas were named for triage colors. This caused confusion all day long as captains mistook search zones for triage designations. Another source of confusion is that all CERT teams look alike, especially in the dark. It was difficult to evaluate a specific team when several are using the same corridor.”

Exercise Setting:

The poor condition of the soon-to-be demolished Sequim Community School was ideal for simulating the damage caused by a Cascadia Earthquake. Volunteer staff spent 3 days eliminating light sources and removing unsafe conditions prior to the drill. Abandoned furniture and school supplies strewn throughout the building provided realistic challenges for the teams. Requiring the teams to conduct their searches in the dark added to the drill’s realism. It also tested their rope skills and communications ability.

Comment –

“The single access point of the building made the ingress and egress of search teams and victim extrication into a major traffic jam and created concerns for the teams.”

It should be noted that the single ingress and egress point was part of the drill design to present a level of chaos and difficulty in entering a building. It should be expected that in real events that pathways and entrances will be partially blocked by debris and will pose challenges to operations.

The emergency required a search of a condemned school building and the subsequent rescue, extrication and first aid treatment of dozens of "victims." The venue and scope of the situational "emergency" was stated as excellent by multiple teams; it was especially applicable to CERT 3 and CERT 1, which have a school building (Greywolf and Crescent School) located within their its assigned search areas.

Risks:




The Drill was designed to be performed by persons of reasonable fitness, mobility and health. Our CERT teams also feature persons who have temporary or permanent medical conditions, bad backs, shoulders, and mobility issues. Therefore, at the time of the disaster teams will need to organize themselves according.

Comment from Participant -

“Teams need to know the limitations of each other.”

The teams also noted the tight quarters as team entered the building and moved to their search areas.

“Four teams in one building, sharing a main line in a common hallway and moving support teams in and victims out along that shared line, created a lot of tangle; it was often too crowded.”

It should be noted that this was intentional to create challenges for the teams and communication exchanges between the teams.

PARTICIPANT & TEAM FEEDBACK:

ADMINISTRATION

Check-In

Registration of participants was accomplished at one table. While team arrivals were scheduled at staggered intervals, in actual practice people showed up whenever, and there were long waiting lines. Multiple registration tables, either by team or by alphabetical segment, could have sped up the participants' in-processing and out-processing.

Comment -

“Real world checks in will likely be disorganized whether at school or anywhere other than a normal gathering place. However, for purposes of the drill or future drills administration surely could use some help. I have come to appreciate the value of this process for both volunteers and financial reimbursement when we begin our Disaster Recovery Phase”.

Team assembly areas were not designated at the Drill.

Comment-




“Cert Team gathering areas would have been helpful, even a hand paddle with a number on it. Next year.”

COMMAND & STAFF FEEDBACK:

ADMINISTRATION

A few CERT’s did not sign in and others did not sign out. They were reasonably patient at Check-In but in a great hurry to leave even though the drill concluded earlier than expected.

Two tables for Check-In had to be re-assigned to support Red Cross which caused the Check-In lines to go from the planned 4 lines (2-3 teams or staff check in per table) located 30’ from the door to one line that was within 10’ feet of the door and wrapped to the right of the tables.

CERTs hurried through filling out the evaluation forms and two teams did not return them until 10 days later.

Improvements for next year include: emailing “Hold Harmless” Forms for the venue to CERTs in advance for them to bring to the event; providing Check-In forms to Team Captains at assigned Team Meeting locations at the site: and using Team Captains to gather evaluation forms to turn in before leaving the location

PARTICIPANT & TEAM FEEDBACK:

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Resources:

All team members wore their Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the drill. This included dust masks for this exercise with many teams. Their use did create some unexpected results.

Comments from Participant –




“We found that the issued eye goggles would fog up immediately when using the dust masks.”

“Personal rope lines (10-foot lines) were typically a tangled mess and a tripping hazard. Those of us who used retractable dog-leashes as our personal lines were much happier with the results.”

“Heavy leather gloves (PPE) made the manipulation of carabiner clips and line management too difficult. Lighter weight gloves would be more suitable to that task; the heavier gloves work better for cribbing and forcible entry tasks (which were not part of this Drill.) The conclusion is that team members will need to adjust your gloves (heavy, light, medical etc.) based on task at hand.”

Comment from team -

“Wearing gloves inhibited the ability to operate carabiners”

Communications:

• Equipment:

We used FRS radios sparingly for emergency traffic and entry/exit confirmation with operations. Everyone was tuned to channel 5.

• Personnel:

Shouting instructions and requests in a large building with many rooms was not as effective as desired. This required Team Captains to actively move up and down the rope lines which was done by some of the teams but not all.

The shouted instructions and requests were difficult to record or log. They often did not follow radio protocol. ("Hey, we need a stretcher in here!") Note that some teams try to use this as an opportunity to practice radio protocol to various degrees of success.

COMMAND & STAFF FEEDBACK:

SEARCH AND RESCUE

General Observations for Inside activities - Teams entering the building were visibly shocked by the conditions. Morning teams struggled for about 40 minutes before they sorted out how to navigate with the rope system (Afternoon teams struggled less because of what they learned from the morning teams during lunch). As this problem




was solved, the teams began to rely on their training. They became more comfortable working in the dark. Their confidence grew and by the time they evacuated their last victim they were working well. For instance, two of the search areas teams initially step over major debris instead of moving it. Once the first litter case occurred in those areas the debris was removed.

Communications – Morning teams’ internal verbal communications were difficult during the first half hour. This cleared up as the members gained experience and confidence. Morning radio discipline needed improvement. Team captains were to be the only ones to use the radio when entering and leaving the building and in an emergency. Some captains talked more than they should have. I observed confusion between the captains and Ops about checking into the building. Several teams assumed the radio check was sufficient notification they were entering the building. This needs to be clarified. Afternoon communication discipline was better.

I observed several people in the building without a buddy. Buddy requirements caused some creative problem solving when a simple task like retrieving a backboard required two people from an understrength team.

Teams communicated with victims in a compassionate professional way.

The teams are truly “teams.” The hung out together, traveled in groups and ate together. Their common training is making them into a unit that works well together and is an asset for the fire district.

Ropes – Morning teams had difficulty establishing their mainline ropes. Some of this may be attributed to confusing instructions. Once the mains were set there was a period where teams learned how to efficiently navigate up and down the main line. Once this lesson was learned the drill progressed well. I observed several people not attached to the main line throughout the day. Safety officers or other team members quickly pointed out the problem and it was remedied on the spot. Ropes is a skill that will have to be practiced all the time. It will be easier after the experience of the exercise.

Search and Rescue – All teams were able to execute their right or left-hand searches on ropes. Two teams did not complete their searches. One team had difficulty extracting several backboard cases and did not finish its area. In addition, it received conflicting information. A safety officer gave direct instructions to a squad to change the search without informing the Captain.

Comment from teams -




“Instructions given by Safety Personnel to participants did not go through the right chain of command”

A second afternoon team was confused and exited the building after completing only part of its search. It re-entered the building and was able to finish part of the remaining area. Teams mentioned they should mark rooms cleared like they do when entering and leaving a building.

Comment from victim-

“Twice a rescuer peeked in, but no one entered the room.”

Some teams failed initially to realize the need to make decisions in their search process which slowed their progress.

Comment from a team -

“Captain started on right hand search but had victim on the left side of a large common room and vacillated on what to do.”

Some also failed to recognize that they could make the lifting of a patient easier on themselves. Much of this was driven by the fear of hurting the patient further vs. the continued risk of being in the building.

Comment from a participant -

“Recognize that they could drag a victim out to a better position instead of trying to lift them in awkward position.”

Several SAR squads spent too much time with victims while transport teams were working when they could have completed the search of the rest of that room. This problem worked itself out as Safety Officers pointed this out.

The “out-out-out” command was given to simulate a major aftershock that required immediate building evacuation to assess the building safety. The General Building evacuation under the command out-out-out took longer than expected by the teams although all did evacuate and performed an acceptable accountability report to operations.

Comment from a victim -

“When “out-out-out” happened, the squad hesitated to leave me behind.”




Interior Triage – Triage was difficult to observe in the dark. The inside evaluator recommended that we should consult with the outside observers to see if the victims were properly evaluated and labeled. In some cases, treatment under triage process inside the building went beyond opening airways and stopping major bleeding (for example splinting).

TRANSPORT

Several teams encountered shortage of backboards for their patients. This was perplexing to staff as there were only 4 patients that should have required backboards in the morning and afternoon segments. Follow-up questioning of the victims found that some had deviated from their instructions and presented much more critical injuries to the medical evaluators which caused the teams to require additional backboards.

Inside Transport – Inside transport was challenging for teams and victims. I observed several people being placed on backboards. Here is another skill that must be practiced constantly. Several teams recognized the need to reorganize their squads because some transport squad members were unable to carry victims on backboards or soft stretchers. Teams tried to be careful with victims, but numerous instances were observed where a victim’s condition could have been aggravated by the handling. Teams demonstrated good ability to improvise transport using wheel chairs or office chairs they found on site to facilitate extraction. Some teams had difficulty in maneuvering through doors with their packs and patients.

Comment from team members-

“Having packs going through a door was an issue”

“One person removed a backpack in the search area to get an item and forgot it in there”

One recommendation made by a team was particularly good in managing a patient.

Comment from the team –

“Recommends that you keep a dialog going with the victim as you are transporting and tell them what is going on”




OUTSIDE TRANSPORT

Several Teams failed to close the X on the marking of the building search when they exited the building.

TREATMENT

We found that the "Victim Treatment Area Record" forms were inadequate to the task. A recorder at the "pinch point" may or may not get an accurate entry for the victim as the transporters move toward the triage tarps; and as the victim receives treatment, or if the victim's condition changes, or if subsequent examinations are performed (every ten minutes), no further entries are easily made to the master record at the pinch point. When there is a team transition or shift change, there was no record of the victim's status (other than what was recorded at the pinch point).

Comment-

“Common charting procedure would instead attach a card or form to the victim's person, and every victim re-inspection and update would be annotated on the victim's own card. This would enable subsequent care providers in follow-on shifts to have immediate access to all the victim's current information.”

Comment-

“The victim check-in process at the tarps while seeming choked the flow of patients to the tarps, was something I believed absolutely necessary to control who was there.”

The outside evaluator noted four patients that were triage and treated inappropriately. One critical patient was coded yellow and not properly re-assessed to red. (Traumatic head injury). Another patient that was yellow was sent to green when they also should have been sent to red. One patient was triage yellow with dirt in their eyes and was left in yellow instead of flushing their eyes with water to restore sight moving them to green. One patient who was dizzy was released and sent to the Red Cross and not re-assessed or treated for dizziness.

Moulage of the victims added a real element to the perceived injuries of the patient handled by the teams. One issue that did occur was that some victims did not receive adequate directions to not deviate from the expected injuries and ad-libbed their injuries to a greater level and extent that changed their triage status (see triage comment).

Comments from teams -




“No briefing up front to the victims and some went off script.”

This was interesting as administration and the staff members doing moulage described to the victims what their injuries would be and what to do in their role.

“It was indicated that we ran out of gloves and sanitizers in the treatment area.”

Each team was directed to bring their own gloves and sanitizers and we provided 500 gloves for the event. We noted 100 gloves remained at the end of the drill. Staff was surprised to hear this comment.

There was a reluctance to touch patients in preforming a “head to toe” exam. Others performed the assessment without adequate squeezing of the assessed area to determine if injured had occurred. Difficulties in lowering a walking victim to the ground and, in some cases, incorrectly on to their injured area.

The need to re-check victims in the treatment area must be re-emphasized. Red and Yellow patients should be checked every 5 minutes. Green patients should be checked every 15 minutes.

Evaluation:

Teams commented that doing an evaluation of the drill was a good idea. A common theme to that discussion was the challenge of how to determine due to lack of perspective from other drills how good the quality of the drill was. A second issue was the desire to spend more time to complete evaluations.

Comment-

“A form or questionnaire was passed out at the end of the de-brief session. The questions were thought provoking, but the evaluation process was rushed (to get everyone out early), so we had about 5 minutes or less to fill out the form.”

“The evaluation form (as I recall it) asked questions about the clarity of guidance and effectiveness of leadership communications during the Drill. For the most part, the participants really don't have a standard reference by which to assess leadership, communications, etc.; what they know instead is how well they were prepared personally to deal with the challenges of the Drill.”

“I hope that responses to how well they were prepared would feed back into the way the CERT training is covered, both in the context of the initial course and in any follow-on team meetings.”




Public Information Officers (PIO) Comments

On Saturday, June 3, 2017 a gathering of over two hundred volunteers and staff converged on Sequim Community School to begin search and rescue for individuals who were injured and trapped inside the school structure. Fortunately, this was a simulation of the aftermath of a large earthquake in our community where CERT teams would be called upon to assist with light search and rescue in a damaged environment which in this case was an abandoned school set for demolition.

The entire event, including the training of the volunteers was organized entirely by volunteers and showed remarkable organizational skill and forethought. Check-in was smooth, teams knew exactly where and how to form up, the activities ran so smoothly that they finished ahead of schedule and no participant was lost or injured during the exercise.

Some of the CERT volunteers participating were mobility challenged but they had a role to fulfill and were fully involved during the exercise. Food was provided by the American Red Cross and another volunteer from KSQM produced a video on the fly with their cell phone that was published to YouTube and widely circulated after the event.

The goal is for this to become an annual event in Area Command 5 utilizing different venues and scenarios to keep the team sharp and focused on continuous performance.

Conclusions – The primary and secondary objectives of the drill were successfully achieved. The teams were able to exercise their skills in a realistic environment in a way that could not happen in a classroom. Mr. John Crook, Operations/EOC Supervisor for Jefferson county Emergency Management observed the morning drill. John has experience with USAR teams. He said we should be very happy with our teams’ performance. He was impressed with their skill and professionalism and the organization of the drill. Both our evaluators noted excellent teamwork and communication amongst the teams and rated this as our strongest strength.

It should also be noted the contribution Red Cross made in preparation for the event: Over 1 hour by four people in shopping for the food; 3 hours of five people doing food preparation and the day of the event 3 people doing setup and feeding. In addition, Red Cross had 5-6 people doing Safe and Well activities in the field.

The data from drill evaluations was divided into four categories: Overall Experience; SAR; Patient Transport and Treatment. Data from the forms indicated that overall the drill achieved 4.36 rating which was between agree and strongly agree. (See Chart 1) In all areas, clear instructions were the largest concern with a rating of just at agrees on how clear and concise the instructions were. The greatest area of concern on instructions being the treatment area. No other concerns affected every area of the drill.




The other two items which only scored an agree rating were check-in (Administration) and the use of ropes (SAR). (See Overall Chart)

It should be also noted that two other factors appear to influence some of the scores given: newer teams had less training time and practice; and less time for leadership to develop working relationships on the team. The teams that had more practice and time together as a team working on their leadership skills at the squad level generally gave a higher evaluation score than newer teams.

CHART 1

Scores: 1 Strongly Disagree to 5 Strongly Agree

Question Overall SAR Transport Treatment 1 4.28 3.96 4 3.83 2 4.46 4.52 4.41 4.38 3 3.94 4.63 4.33 4.26 4 4.78 4.16 4.47 4.24 5 4.43 4.69 4.66 4.81 Average 4.378 4.392 4.374 4.304 Combined 4.362

Overall the scores represent a positive statement of how the teams felt about the drill and reflect how successful the program has been in developing these teams. However, the data does reflect opportunities in areas for improvement and this data will be used to identify additional training needs for the teams. We have also included in the Exhibit section the scores by team and this will be used to help tailor individual programs that meet the specific needs of our teams.

None of the participants suffered any reported injuries. Had there been a significant injury, such as a fall, broken bones, bleeding, heart attack, etc., the on-scene safety officers combined with the stand-by ambulance would have been able to provide immediate assistance. In addition, a Paramedic unit was within 3 minutes of the scene at Station 34.

Not all team members were available for this Drill. Consequently, some shifting and shuffling of team assignments was necessary. This will always be the case in an emergency. Contingency training for alternate captains and squad leaders would be prudent. One thought is that this drill should be moved to September to avoid issues of graduations, wedding and vacations that occur in the month of June.




The drill was not perfect. Experience gained, and lessons learned will set the standard for future Tier 2 CERT drills.

Comment from participant –

“.. it was a revelation to see how quickly we came together as a team. We knew what we had to do, and we found a way to get it done. For all the critique we can submit we can't let that discourage us. We did great! Now, we see it (the bigger picture) and can get to work to learn and train and get ready…”

All personnel should be thanked for their participation and the effort they made to prepare for a major disaster event including all CERTs, CCFD 3, victims, volunteers/staff and Red Cross.

Asst. Chief Dan Orr




OVERALL CHART




Exhibit 1 Team Results

























Acknowledgement of Key Participants:

Clallam County Fire District 3 Clallam County Fire District 4/CERT

Stefanie Anderson – Moulage Pat Baxter – Search Safety

Ben Andrews – Incident Commander Donna Buck – Admin/Logistics

John Brygider – Maintenance Support City of Sequim

Lori Coleman – Moulage Barbara Hannah - PIO

Mary Dee Countryman – Treatment Fran Howell- PIO

Tharin Huismann – Maintenance Support Bob Lake - Communications

John McKenize – Search Safety Sequim School District

Steve Miller – Treatment John McAndie

Sam Orr – Transportation Red Cross

Scotty Robinson – Safety Officer Denise Nielsen – Feeding Coordination

Chris Ross – Search Safety Frank Piccola – Safe & Well

Brandon Tucker – Treatment Janet Piccola – Lead Representative

Blaine Zechenelly – Operations County EMD*

Civilian Volunteers CCFD 3 Penny Linterman – PIO Lead

Mike Becker – Communications Evaluators

Joel Ogden – Transportation Jim Buck – Clallam County EMD*

Karen Schafer – Admin/Photography Glenn Roggenbuck – Lower Elwha EMD*

Cindy Zechenelly – Administration Lead John Crooks – Jefferson Co. EMD*

*Emergency Management Division

And of Course, all the CERT Team Members of Teams 1 thru 8, newly graduated basic academy and unassigned CERTs who were Victims for this drill.

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