Contra Costa County CERT ProgramUnit 6 – CERT Organization

Released: 18 August 2010Released: 18 August 2010

Visual 6.2

Community Emergency Response Team

Personal safety is ALWAYS the number one priority Work as a team Wear personal protective equipment…gloves, helmet,

goggles, N95 mask and boots

The CERT goal is to do the

Greatest Good for the Greatest Number Hope for the best but plan for the worst

Visual 6.3

Unit 6 - CERT Organization

CLASS OBJECTIVES

Describe the CERT organization Identify how CERTs interrelate with ICS Explain documentation requirements

Visual 6.4

Purpose of On-Scene Management

Maintain physical safety of disaster workers Maintain mental well being of disaster workers Provide clear leadership and organizational structure Improve effectiveness of rescue efforts

Visual 6.5

Need for CERT Organization

Incident Command System provides:Well-defined management structureManageable span of controlCommon terminologyEffective communicationConsolidated action plansComprehensive resource managementAccountability

Visual 6.6

Objectives of CERT Organization

Identifies the scope of the incident

• What is the problem?

Determines an overall strategy• What can CERT do, and will

they do it?

Deploys resources• Who is going to do what?

Documents actions and results• If you didn’t write it down,

it didn’t happen

Visual 6.7

CERT & ICS

INCIDENT COMMAND SYSTEM Provides flexibility of resource management Management Span of Control There are 5 major management activities in ICS

Command Operations Planning Logistics Finance/ Administration

Visual 6.8

ICS Management

SPAN OF CONTROL Is between 3 and 7 team members Optimally does not exceed 5 team members

Visual 6.9

CERT and ICS

CERTLeader

Operations Section

LogisticsSection

PlansSection

AdministrationSection

Basic CERT ICS

(IncidentCommander)

Visual 6.10

Command and Control

Incident Commander… “What to do” CERT leader

Operations… “How to do it” Manage the teams in the field

Logistics… “How to support it” Manage resources, supplies and equipment

Planning / Intelligence… “What’s going on” Make incident plans,Collect and display information

Administration… “What gets recorded” Collect and compile documentation

Visual 6.11

ICS – Incident Commander

Sets objectives and priorities, has overall responsibility at the incident or event.

Establishes the command post Assigns personnel as needed Initially may be responsible for

Operations, Plans, Logistics and Administration duties. As event grows the IC will delegate these.

Ensures coordination of staff actions and activities

ONE MOREFIREFIGHTER

SHOULD DO IT

Visual 6.12

Dealing with the Media

Refer media inquiries to CERT Team Leader / IC

Do not let media interfere with CERT goals

Be careful about information released

Visual 6.13

CERT Operations Section

OperationsSection

Medical Group Leader

Search & RescueGroup Leader

XXXGroup Leader

TransportationTeam

TreatmentTeams

Morgue Team

Supply Teams

S&R Team A

S&R Team B

S&R Team C

XXX Team A

XXXTeam B

XXXTeam C

Visual 6.14

ICS - Operations

OPERATIONS Develops the operations tactics Develops the organization structure Conducts tactical operations to carry out the plan Directs all resources deployed

Visual 6.15

ICS - Plans

PLANS Develops the action plan to accomplish the

objectives defined for the event Collects and evaluates information Maintains resource status on all equipment and

personnel during event Maintains incident documentation

Visual 6.16

ICS - Logistics

LOGISTICS Provides resources and all other services

needed to support an incident: Personnel Food Communications Facilities Transportation, etc.

Visual 6.17

ICS - Administration

ADMINISTRATION / FINANCE Responsible for costs related to incident Provides accounting, procurement, time recording

and cost analyses

Visual 6.18

CERT Structure

CERT Leader (Incident Commander) Appointed to direct CERT team activities In a disaster response, this person is usually

the first person to arrive at the pre-designated staging area

Command Post Location the CERT Leader establishes for

command and control of incident CERT Leader may appoint Operations, Planning,

Logistics, etc. as incident expands A CERT incident may be small or large

Visual 6.19

CERT Mobilization

CERTS: Take care of themselves, their family, their home and

their neighbors Respond to staging area, gathering facts along the way First to arrive is in charge of incident and is CERT

Leader CERT organization should have effective

communications, a manageable span of control and maintain accountability

The greatest good for the greatest number without placing CERT

members in harms way

Visual 6.20

CERT Mobilization

CERT Mobilization (When, Where & How) Depending on CERT protocols, CERT members

respond to pre-designated locations ready for response CERT IC will develop an organization plan Priorities may change as operation continues; CERT IC

needs to stay on top of these shifting priorities Communications must be organized, efficient and

effective ICS was developed to assist in the management of

major incidents - Use it Goal is always to do the greatest good for the greatest

number of people while maintaining CERT safety

Visual 6.21

CERT Decision Making Review

Heavy damage = No rescue, mark as heavy damage, warn people to stay away

Moderate damage = Minimize rescuers time in building

Light damage = Locate, triage, treat, and prioritize victim removal

Visual 6.22

Team Functions in Light Damage

Search & Rescue Group Locate, triage, tag, transport ‘Delayed’ and

‘Immediate’ to medical treatment area, document

Medical Group Triage again, head-to-toe, treatment, transport

“Immediates” to a higher level of medical care, document

Utility Control Group Shut off utilities as needed, extinguish small fires,

document

Visual 6.23

Team Functions in Moderate Damage

Other Groups as Necessary such as: Utilities Group Shut off utilities as needed, extinguish small fires,

document

Search & Rescue Group Locate, stabilize, evacuate, triage in safe

area, warn others, document

Medical Group Triage again, head-to-toe in safe area, treatment in

safe area, transport “Immediates” to a higher level of medical care, document

Visual 6.24

Team Functions in Heavy Damage

Utility Control Group Shut off utilities if safe to do so, document

Search & Rescue Group Search around the perimeter for victims, gather

information, warn others, document

Visual 6.25

Documentation

Under CERT each level of authority is responsible for documentation (Incident Commander, Operations, Planning, Logistics, Administration / Finance)

Visual 6.26

Documentation Responsibilities

CERT Teams provide the Command Post with ongoing information and documentation on: Damage assessment Team status Ongoing needs

Command Post documents: Incident status

• Incident locations, Access routes, Identified hazards

• Support locations: Staging Area, Treatment/Triage Areas, Morgue

Visual 6.27

CERT Forms

Damage Assessment Personnel Resources Sign-In Incident/Assignment Tracking Log Briefing Assignment Victim Treatment Area Record Communications Log Equipment Inventory General Message

Forms are in Participant Manual pages 6-20 to 6-28

Visual 6.28

Visual 6.29

Exercise

A disaster has happened. You took care of your family and the people in your

neighborhood. Now you are at the ‘mustering” site, the pre-arranged

location where you met the other available CERTs.

Your group was able to establish contact with the EOC and was duly activated.

You are about to receive assignments. The Incident Commander expects your team to report what it has done at the end of the day.

Visual 6.30

IncidentNumber

MinorGreen

DelayedYellow

ImmediateRed

DeadBlack

Fire Burning

FireOut

LightDamage

ModerateDamage

HeavyDamage

Hazards

1 1

2 2 1

3 1 1

4 1

5 2 3 3

6 1

7 1

8 5 3

9 4

10

11 1 1

Total 11 4 9 1 0 2 1 1 1 1

How Did You Do?

Visual 6.31

In The End Calm Heads Prevail

Visual 6.32

Unit Summary

CERT Organization CERTs are part of ICS

ICS Flexible and Scalable Command Structure

Documentation