Sheriff Brooks talks with Ojai Valley Woman's Club

Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks was guest speaker at today's (4/3/08) Ojai Valley Woman's Club monthly meeting (441 E Ojai Ave in Ojai, CA).

Topics included various challenges police encounter; communication enhancements with Reverse-911; online information (county web-sites) during emergencies; and various topics covering terrorism. After handing out copies of a "Home Safety Emergency Plan" - sponsored by The Ventura County Sheriff's Foundation (http://www.vcsheriffsfoundation.com/) -- to all members, he explained the importance of being prepared for emergencies -- especially fires, with possible evacuations.

I had an opportunity to promote CERT and strongly recommended the importance of training -- mentioning the next CERT class beginning end of this month. I also plugged the "People Like You" DVD and raised the idea of the Club presenting the video during one of their social evenings.

I attended the meeting not preparing to talk -- just shows what opportunities can arise to spread the message of CERT.

Acquiring Emergency Supplies (American Red Cross)

There are many locations for acquiring Emergency Supplies. One organization is well known -- The American Red Cross:

http://www.redcrossstore.org/

Some of the proceeds go towards supporting the Red Cross.

CERT DVD - "People Like You"

Walk Your Talk Productions (sponsored by The Rotary Club of Ojai-West) produced a very informative introduction to CERT in DVD format.

By distilling the highlights from a recent CERT class into a 77 minute piece they effectively inform the audience about the realities of disasters, how to prepare and how to respond. The material is very useful for CERT graduates as both a training review and a reminder of areas to re-focus on.

They are having a "Fire Sale" right now for $10/copy -- discounted from $20 (while a very minor fix is made to the chapter section).

It's not a big deal, so grab them while they're hot! www.walkyourtalkproductions.com

CERT Training (Ojai Valley) -- Sign up now!!!

The next CERT training course (6 classes & 1 drill) begins on April 24th from 7:00PM to 9:30PM at the Oak View Park and Resource Center.

Classes are held on: Thursday, April 24th, May 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th and a graduation/final drill on Saturday, June 7th.

Contact Cindy Cantle at (805) 654-2703 to register.

http://fire.countyofventura.org/cert/

What is CERT?

This web-page is a good starting point in learning about CERT:

https://www.citizencorps.gov/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.