Dan Wall and Steve Johnston managed to create a very realistic exercise drill by demonstrating the abilities of professional first responders and recognizing the need and contribution of community organizations.
The Incident Command Center layout was most impressive and simulated a real scenario showing-off and using all available County Equipment. I spent the majority of the second day in the Command Center playing various roles within Operations, Logistics and Communications – valuable training that can be applied locally. I was able to request fuller integration of the Ham Radio Group into the Command Center which enhanced communication during drills and showcased their capabilities.
I was impressed with the quality of instruction during the breakout sessions and enjoyed chatting with the various vendors on-site. Capt. Lazenby was busy training a new CERT class and graduated over 30 students.
Networking opportunities abounded with interactions between law enforcement, fire, Ventura County Health, CERT/DART, Red Cross, several vendors and various medical organizations.
To get the full 36 hour experience, I stayed overnight in my car. Next time, I'm finding a cot in one of the tents that were made available!
The Disaster Drills and exciting Helicopter landings brought all training components together. Interesting to note that the second day drill was remarkably improved in many components - especially communications. Proof positive that ongoing recurrency training is a must for any Disaster Preparedness Group.
I left with a heightened awareness of requiring accuracy with all communications during drills/disasters. A section within the Incident Command Center was in real-time contact with all hospitals countywide. They were taking actual data from our drill and coordinating the intake of various categories of patients for multiple hospitals.
Overall, a very worthwhile time which included: training, networking, camaraderie, and a list of new ideas to integrate into Ojai Valley CERT. Of course, the recent earth tremor a day or so later gave us all a wake-up call to take Golden Guardian seriously in November.
Welcome to Ojai Valley CERT
IMPORTANT UPDATE.....
THIS WEB-SITE HAS BEEN ARCHIVED.
PLEASE GO TO HTTP://OJAIVALLEYCERT.ORG
This blog provides information to those interested in CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) activities in The Ojai Valley, CA. CERT works in partnership with OVARC (Ojai Valley Amateur Radio Club) which provides Ham Radio Communications - http://www.ovarc.org/.
http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert is a good place to begin learning about CERT. The fact is, immediately after a major disaster, each of us will be on our own while Emergency Services Personnel (Fire, Hospital, Police, Hospitals, etc) figure out what happened and how to respond. CERT teaches valuable self-preservation skills and empowers each of us to be of service to ourselves, family, neighborhood and community. By integrating CERT with Ham Radio, citizens can effectively communicate actionable information from the field to the Emergency Operations Center -- help will be on the way sooner.
Please check out the CERT Calendar & Map at the bottom of this web-page and sign our Guestbook (top right of page).
