2010 CERT Expo - Registration Open for Nov 6th

The 2010 CERT Expo (Saturday, November 6th - all day) is now open for registration.

Please register by going to: http://fire.countyofventura.org/cert



For questions, or to volunteer, contact your local CERT Coordinator or Ventura County Fire Department CERT Program Administrator at 805-389-9710

Emergency 72 Hour Kit

Emergency 72 Hour Kit
What is an Emergency 72 Hour Kit?
• This is the bag you grab as you go out the door in an emergency “incident” (Earth Quake, Flood, Hurricane etc.) It will help keep you more comfortable until help can finally get to you. It will also help you sleep better knowing you are ready for the incident when it occurs
Considerations
• If Murphy's law prevails when the incident occurs it will be in the dark of night, in the rain, on the coldest night of the year. Plan for that
• There will probably be no..Electricity, gas or water. Plan for that
• Police, fire departments and ambulances may not be able to get to you. Plan for that
• Inspect Kit every six months (batteries, shelf lives etc)

Shelter and Warmth
• "Emergency" space blanket or bag
• 5-Heavy duty plastic trash bags (2.5 mil) (many uses)
• 25' of small gauge rope
• Poncho/ rain suit
• At least one change of clothes
• Gloves
• Hiking shoes/boots
• Hat


Communication equipment
• FRS radio (1 set) with charger/extra batteries
• Hamm Radio with charger/extra batteries (if qualified)
• Transistor or wind up radio
• Cell Phone with charger/extra batteries

Food and Water
• Rotate food and water every six months (or by expiration date)
• One gallon per person per day (2 quarts drinking 2 quarts cooking)
• Iodine water purification tablets
• Canned juices
• Instant coffee/Tea
• Only get food you like, try the food before the incident
• Individual ready-to-eat canned food or
• Freeze dried camping foods (MRE’s, LERPS etc)
• Comfort items ( hard candy, gum, nuts, dried fruits, Trail mix etc,)
• Protein or fruit bars (Cliff bars etc)
• Soup
• Jerky
• Peanut butter
• Dry Cereal
• Crackers
• Sugar, salt, pepper
• Vitamins
Heat, Light, and Signaling
• Waterproof match case
• Waterproof strike-anywhere matches
• Disposable lighter
• whistle on lanyard [beware of metal whistles they freeze to lips in cold]
• Stainless steel double-surface signal mirror
• AA or AAA flashlight with fresh and spare batteries
• AA or AAA headlamp with fresh and spare batteries (you may need both hands)
• Portable cooking device ( Sterno, Coleman etc)
• Light sticks (Cyalume)
Knives and Tools
• Swiss army knife or Leatherman tool
• Wood axe
• Gas shutoff tool
• Can Opener (if not in SAK or Leatherman)
• Something(s) to cook in (Pot/ Pan)
• Knives, fork, spoon, ladle, etc (Mess kits are easiest)
• Re-sealable plastic bags
• Duct tape
•


First Aid
• Prescription Medications
• First Aide Instruction Booklet
• Triangular bandage
• Flexible fabric band-aids of various sizes
• Hand wipes or hand sterilizer
• Insect repellant
• Sun screen
• Aspirins or Tylenol
• Pepto Bismol / Anti acids
• 5 -3"x3" sterile gauze pads
• 5-4”X4” sterile gauze pads
• 1 roll 2" cling bandage
• decongestant tablets
• Blister pack of throat lozenges
• Neosporin antibiotic ointment
• Extra safety pins
• Scissors
• Thermometer (non mercury non glass)
• Tweezers
• Adhesive cloth tape
• 2 pair sterile gloves
• Instant cold compress
• Burn ointment
• Eye wash solution
• Anti-diarrhea medication
• Laxative


General
• Telephone change
• Money at least $50.00 (small bills) (credit card machines probably won’t work)
• Pictures of family, roommates, pets (in case they get separated)
• Extra pair eyeglasses in unbreakable case
• Deck of cards/ small set of checkers etc
• Copies of important docs (wills, birth, marriage certificates etc)
• Copy of important phone numbers



Personal Hygiene
• Disposable razor
• Comb/brush
• toothbrush
• toothpaste
• toilet tissue
• feminine hygiene products
• soap/shampoo
•

For the Baby
• Formula
• Diapers
• Bottles
• Powdered Milk
• Medications
• Moist Towelettes
• Diaper rash ointment
• Favorite doll or toy


For your Pet
• Food
• Water
• Chew toy
• Medications
• Leash
Use a quality Back-Pack(s) or Duffle(s) to carry all the above
Put an ID on your bag Keep where you can get at it
Keep a light source at the top of the pack, remember Murphy!

Attaching a $5 Gas Wrench to Gas Meter

This is a picture of my building's gas meter with attached instruction card and inexpensive ($5) gas wrench I purchased at local hardware store.

Discuss with your CERT instructor for specifics on how to use a gas meter wrench.

We learned that it's important to inspect, after an earthquake, the meter for gas leaks (hissing sounds). Do NOT automatically turn off the Gas Meter without checking first -- it will turn off all the pilot lights in the building, and then the Utility Company has to show up to turn back on again.

(Rotate picture clockwise, if necessary.)

CERT Supplies - Online Store

At the recent July 4th Ojai Parade, one of our CERT members was sporting a CERT ballcap and t-shirt.

Checkout http://www.cert-kits.com/ for more details.

Sunvival -- emergency preparedness supplies

Sunvival offers a new perspective on emergency preparedness and living harmoniously with nature. Most survival plans and resources focus on a 3 day duration. However, in disasters like Hurricane Katrina, or a major earthquake, survival skills and equipment for much longer than 3 days will be essential. Our mission at Sunvival is to help everyone be prepared for such events. Tools and skills needed for longer term emergency survival draw upon nature's renewable resources and can be used for fun in camping and everyday life.

Check out their web-site at: http://www.sunvival.com/home/

6 month Family Disaster & Preparedness Calendar

I can think of two major reasons why there could be resistance in preparing a disaster plan and
coming up with all the items (food, supplies, etc) on the list. Not enough:

1. Time &
2. Money

Depending on the size of your family, the list of supplies could grow relatively large and the items are not exactly free.

A possible solution is the following web-site. The idea is, over a 6 month period, to gradually create your disaster plan and steadily acquire items on the list. By chunking the whole process done, it appears overall doable. It also makes it easier to keep track of items that are nearing the end of their shelf life and need to be consumed and then replenished.

Make sure you purchase items that you will actually want to eat.

Guess what you do at the end of the sixth month? Flip back to page one and start over again.

I hope you find this link useful.

http://safetyservices.ucdavis.edu/emergency-management/familydisastercalendar.pdf

Heater Meals (Self-Heating Technology)

Wayne Francis (W6OEU) is the Ojai Valley Emergency Coordinator (Area 5) for the Ventura County Auxiliary Communication Service (VC-ACS). He also heads the Ojai Valley Amateur Radio Club (www.ovarc.org).

At a recent meeting he mentioned a great idea for stockpiling food supplies - http://www.heatermeals.com/. Legend has it the food was taste-tested at The Pentagon and received rave reviews.

Ojai Valley CERT & OVARC is not affiliated with this company, but it's worth taking a look because it's a great concept.

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.