Category: Resources

A wide-spread emergency can result in a power outage that lasts for days or even weeks. Over that entire time, if you’re on your own, you’ll need an emergency radio — or perhaps more than one — to know what is happening outside your immediate area.

What’s the best radio for emergency purposes?

The photo below shows five radios that we have purchased and tested; find our comparison of these five emergency radios here. (Guess which one of the radios is a dud!)

What follows are the basics for any radio you decide to put in your emergency supply kit.

A portable AM radio will be your lifeline.

Which radio should you choose?

Local emergency services and radio stations will be broadcasting news that you will want. Be sure you know what channel they’ll be using!  (Put a label on each radio.)

 — Evacuation plans: schedules, staging areas, different routes, location and status of available shelters

 — Weather reports: temperatures, anticipated rain and/or winds

 — Location of areas to avoid: “hotspots,” traffic jams, roadblocks

—  Announcements from Police, Fire or other emergency services

Generally, all the above notifications will be broadcast over the AM band. FM and television signals are “line of sight,” so they can get blocked by tall buildings, mountains, etc., and usually dissipate after about 50-75 miles. AM signals, on the other hand, can bounce off the ionosphere and travel much further (even all the way around the earth!). So, in an emergency situation, you want a strong AM radio so you can tune in to local emergency transmissions.

Your radio needs to work for days or even weeks.

In a power outage, your radio won’t work by being plugged into the wall. It will need an additional source of power – typically batteries. When they wear out, how will they be re-charged?

1. Replace the batteries with new ones from your supplies. Obviously, you have to have plenty of the right size: AAA, AA, D, C, etc.
2. Recharge “rechargeable” batteries using a hand crank and generator, built into the radio.
3. Recharge the batteries using solar power, either built into the radio or attached as a separate panel.

What combination of features will work best for you?

Check out our Emergency Radio Review. It has a series of questions that will help you select exactly what you need.  It also identifies the one radio in the group above that you should NOT buy!

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

We get used to using the jargon of preparedness, and sometimes forget that not everybody thinks about this stuff on a daily basis! Here is some basic emergency preparedness vocabulary you can share with your neighbors and co-workers, particularly if they are new to the concept or if their English language skills aren’t well developed.

Nobody likes to feel left out or stupid. We have found that offering the vocabulary words “as a refresher” is a good way to develop a new level of engagement and confidence. This approach works for everybody!

Incident

This is the official word for the emergency itself – whether it is a fire, an earthquake, aftermath of a hurricane, or a train wreck. An incident can be local, or it can be widespread. We often think of something that is “incidental” as being not very important. In the world of emergency response, an incident is the most important thing! The Incident Commander is the person who takes charge of the response. (Interestingly enough, the very first person who arrives at the scene may become the first Incident Commander, but when someone more qualified arrives, that person may take over!)

Search and Rescue

This is pretty straight forward. It refers to searching for, finding and helping people in immediate danger. Professionals often divide this up into specialty sub-fields that require special training and/or equipment, such as mountain rescue, swift water rescue, etc.

Search and rescue activities are stopped if it is clear there are no more living victims, or if the situation becomes too dangerous for the rescuers. Eventually, search and rescue changes over to “recovery.”

Cribbing

When rescuers are searching through collapsed structures, they may want to lift pieces of debris to reach people trapped beneath. To do this safely, they lift piece by piece and create a support structure to hold each layer safely before moving on to the next. The process is called “cribbing.” It usually involves using pry bars to lift debris, then building a support underneath using wooden beams laid across one another in the form of a box.

Triage (“tree-ahzh”)

In a real emergency, one of the hardest jobs for a volunteer is to not stop to help the first injured person they come to! Instead, they go through a process to sort injured people into groups based on their need for medical treatment. Triage is that sorting process. Its purpose is to serve the most people when resources are limited. Typically, injured people are briefly assessed and then labeled as “minor” (a minor injury), “immediate,” “delayed,” or “deceased.” A fully equipped CERT team will have colored labels (see illustration to left) to attach to victims; this helps trained first responders know where to go when they arrive.

CERT (“sirt”)

The Community Emergency Response Team concept was started in Los Angeles in the 1980s and is now in every state of the union. Professional First Responders had seen the role that committed, ordinary citizens can play in large-scale disasters, when resources are delayed or spread thin. So they created training to give citizens a way to act more safely and more effectively. CERT training usually consists of 20-24 hours of classroom study and hands-on practice. In an emergency, CERT graduates are able to act first as individuals and later as teams to assess damage, extinguish fires, perform light search and recue and render first aid. When professional First Responders arrive, CERT teams serve as support if required.

Logistics (“lo-jis-tiks”)

This is the science of getting supplies to where they are needed. In an emergency, it involves understanding the scope of the incident, knowing what tools, supplies or equipment are available and where they are stored, and making arrangements for getting things delivered to where they are needed. A volunteer totally unfamiliar with the neighborhood or business will not be able to manage this job.

In our neighborhood, we have special teams devoted to each of these special areas. The leaders of these teams call upon other volunteers and direct them, as required.

Action item:  Consider printing out these definitions for all team members, and going over them out loud at a training meeting so everyone knows how they sound.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

Like words?  Here are a couple of other “vocabulary” lists for different situations!

• Business emergencies
• Police Jargon

Trying to inspire and organize your neighborhood to prepare for an emergency is like trying to sell someone life insurance. “I’d rather not think about it,” is a typical response, often accompanied by a sheepish grin.

But a consistent effort does pay off. Last week we held a meeting of our neighborhood block captains, and around 30 people showed up. It turned out to be one of the best meetings we’ve had.

Action Item:  If you’re planning a get-together, consider incorporating the following ideas.

Changing batteries in handheld radios

What makes a good meeting?

1. A good reason! In this case, block captains were given new materials for handing out to their neighbors.

2. Good publicity. An article in our neighborhood newsletter, announcement at the Homeowners’ Association meeting, followed by email reminders and flyers hand-delivered to each block captain. (Multiple reminders are essential! It’s like that old saying that people have to see your ad seven times before they buy.)

3. Name tags for everyone. They make you “a part of the group” and make it easier for team members to get to know one another.

4. A role for each person. In this case, each block captain brought his or her radio and we changed out the batteries. (We do it twice a year.)

5. Variety of activities. Attendees changed batteries, watched a short film downloaded from YouTube (while eating popcorn!), and picked up their handouts for their neighbors.

6. Good audio-visual equipment. Our team has invested in a portable speaker that has great sound quality. We hooked up the computer to it when we showed the film, and also used the microphone for training.

The meeting had an agenda, and it was followed.  People got what they came for and were in and out in a tight 60 minutes. They’ll be willing to come out again as a result.

If you are growing a CERT group, consider grabbing a copy of one or both of of Emergency Plan Guide’s “from the trenches” workbooks. They pull ideas from the past 15 years into handy guidebooks. Get details here.

Virginia
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

P.S. Our third version of Great Meeting Ideas is being assembled now. Sign up for our Advisories below to be sure you get the notice when it comes out!

One of the basic premises of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training is to develop leadership.

In an emergency, the first qualified person on the scene takes the reins of leadership as the “Incident Commander,” following the CERT guidelines . . . but then turns over that leadership to a more qualified member of the team who may join the action later.

This is one of the reasons you want as many of your people fully-trained as possible.  It’s not unlike the cross-training that members of the military special forces receive.

Military training equals leadership for CERT.

(In fact, some of the best people to get involved in a company or neighborhood CERT are former military or people with actual first responder experience.)

Wanted:  Self-Starters

But that special experience aside, the best leaders are going to be those people who have the vision, foresight and commitment to play a key role in forming a team. These are the natural leaders in your business or community who are self-starters.  You will find them heading up the team sports programs like Little League Baseball or Soccer programs.  In business they are the people who take on additional tasks or make suggestions to improve products, etc.

Remember, this is a “voluntary” program.

You don’t want to “assign” people to positions on the team.  That can open you up to possible legal problems and could jeopardize the spirit (if not the letter) of the Good Samaritan legal protection for individuals.

In building an Emergency Plan, you define the roles to be played and the suggested activities within them and give team members the opportunity to step forward and do what they are comfortable with.

Suggested Team Positions

As you build an Emergency Response Plan, here are some suggested team positions and qualifications:

1. Incident Commander – Most qualified volunteer with additional training in the Incident Command System (ICS) and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  You ideally want to have at least 3 or 4 members of your team qualified to fill this position.

 2. Search & Rescue Team Leader – CERT qualified plus previous first responder experience or training if possible.

3. Triage & First Aid Team Leader – CERT qualified plus training in Red Cross First Aid and related courses.  Retired or former nurses, teachers, military with medic training, etc. are also desirable if they are available to you.

4. Logistics Team Leader – Someone who keeps track of various tools and other assets that are available in the neighborhood . . . or, in the case of a business or enterprise, on location.  This could include fire suppression equipment, tools, generators, etc.

5. Division Leaders – Depending on the size of your neighborhood or business enterprise, you may want to divide your community into manageable sections with Division Leaders acting as Local Incident Commanders.

In the case of a closely laid out community, a Division might encompass 50 or 60 homes with 3 – 6 Block Captains, each reporting on 8 – 15 homes and their occupants.  In a business with multiple buildings or locations with a number of employees each, you might want a Division Leader for each building, etc.

6. Block Captains – People who have at least some CERT training who keep track of a block of homes, between perhaps 6 and 20 depending on the makeup of the community.  In the case of apartments, they could be “Floor Captains” or in a business, “Group Captains,”  The titles aren’t really important, but the function is.  These are the people who will check on the well-being of their neighbors or co-workers immediately following an emergency.

How you structure your organization really depends on a number of factors.  We strongly recommend completing the Basic CERT training and the two Incident Command Structure on-line trainings.  Also helpful are the four “Shelter Management” trainings offered by the American Red Cross.

By-Products of the Training

Two of the by-products of any of these training courses – especially the hands-on CERT training – are the confidence and peace of mind that participants gain.  Knowing what to do in an emergency and being disciplined in responding removes a lot of the fear of the unknown. It also creates an awareness and a willingness to act without delay, when  action is called for.

We have been fortunate to witness these positive by-products in our own community under potentially dangerous situations.

Are we talking Business Continuity or Business Emergency Response?

Organizing an emergency response team for a business is not the same as building a business continuation or business continuity plan…but they do complement one another.

The objective of a Business Continuity Plan is to preserve the mission critical elements of a business to assure that it can operate under a variety of conditions following a disruption.

Don’t be lulled into thinking that a contunity plan focuses on computers and customer transaction data. A good continuity plan is far more comprehensive than that! One place to start in assessing your business’ need for a continuity plan is to join the American Red Cross, Ready Rating™ program on line at: www.redcross.org/prepare/location/workplace. It’s free and includes a 125 question, self-paced analysis.

The primary objective of a Business Emergency Response Team is to save the lives of employees and managers first and preserve the business properties second.

Some Challenges May Be Outside The Business’ Control

The greatest challenges that a business faces in a major catastrophe are the various circumstances that may be outside its controls.

1. The location of the facilities, the surrounding businesses, city’s infrastructure, etc. are one aspect of the problem. Many businesses don’t take potential emergencies or infrastructure risks into consideration when they set up shop.
2. The natural urge of employees and managers to get home and check on the welfare of family and loved ones is the human side of the equation and it is something that has to be addressed in any plan that is expected to work.
3. And that leads us to the third problem: the Corporate Emergency Plan.  We have been exposed to a number of them, and have helped design programs for building Business Continuity Plans. The tendency in business is to build these plans by the “bulk” (see photo).  More often than not, this renders them unworkable. It’s much like a battle plan. It looks great on paper, but is usually superseded once the action begins.
   

   Business Continuity Plan — How useful?

Some of the issues that these plans find impossible to address effectively:

— Whether it’s a natural disaster or a major terrorist attack, you can’t predict what the damage is going to be or who will be in a position to respond to the emergency.

— The natural tendency in business is to “appoint” managers to lead Response Teams. Not everyone is physically or mentally equipped to respond effectively in an emergency situation. In many cases, the best leaders in an emergency will not be managers.

— There are legal issues to be considered, often associated with shareholders, financial and reporting requirements, etc. as well as with protecting employee volunteers.

Volunteer status and the Good Samaritan Law

In most states there are laws in place to protect citizens who act in a Good Samaritan capacity. The protection is even greater when people have received CERT, First Aid or other Red Cross training.

Action Item:  As you consider your own business emergency response plan, check to be sure how the Good Samaritan Law works in your state.

Forming a Business Emergency Response Team

The real criteria for forming a Business Emergency Response Team are thus volunteer status and training.

We think that a business has an easier task of forming a CERT-trained Emergency Response Team than another group simply because employees are readily available, and their interests in saving the business are aligned with management’s interests.

For small businesses in a multi-tenant building, it may be beneficial to join forces in building a CERT group for the building or a logical section of the building.

Which is more important, Business or Neighborhood preparation?

In all our posts, we look at getting organized and getting training, whether at the workplace or at the neighborhood level.  In many cases, these overlap.  In all cases, more is better.  This is what inspires us to keep working!

Joe Krueger
Your Emergency Plan Guide Team

“A Creative Organizer Creates an Organization That Can Function Well Without Him.”  Eric Hoffer (1802 – 1983)

Getting started is always the hardest part of any task because it represents change.  Overcoming inertia requires fortitude as well as vision.

But the old adage that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step holds true in building a CERT group as well.

Step One: Identify leaders in your neighborhood.

There are people who have the ability to grasp the importance of preparation and group action as well as the vision to make it happen.  If you are out and about, and you use some of the questions we brought up in the last post, you will begin to recognize these people.

Step Two: Find sources of training.

Action Item: Invite these potential leaders to meet in a group to discuss the advantages of having a CERT organization in the neighborhood and to start the investigation for local training.

A good place to start is your local fire department, police department and city hall. Does your city have a local Department of Emergency Management?

If so, and it periodically conducts CERT training classes, they are usually jointly funded with FEMA. If no classes are offered by your city, try the county or adjacent cities and/or visit the CERT website at www.CitizenCorps.gov/CERT/ and click on the State Directory. That will tell you the closest CERT organization. Usually, the training is provided over a period of between 25 & 30 hours.

These classes are usually run in 3-hour segments, one or two days a week or on weekends for people who work or reside in the city or county. Courses are also taught on line, but the real benefit is the hands-on experience with things like fire suppression, cribbing and other aspects of light search & rescue.

Step Three: Get your core group CERT trained. 

Your objective is to get a few people (as many as possible) CERT trained as the foundation of your neighborhood group. Ideally, if you can get 6 or 8 people through the training, you have the core group, Eventually, depending on the population density, you will want to double that number since it is unlikely that all of your CERT-trained people will be home at the time of an emergency.

This raises the question, what size group is best?

That depends on the nature of your area . . . such as the number of homes, whether or not you have apartment dwellings, commercial establishments and the physical location of homes, etc. Ideally, a team of a dozen people can handle 40-60 homes. If you have more than that, say 100 or so residences, your group might encompass 25-30 people, split up into teams or divisions.

(Our neighborhood, for example, has 360 homes.  We’ve divided it into six divisions, with a team of 10-12 for each division.)

More to come… 

We’ll get into this in more detail in the weeks ahead. In the meantime, there are things that should be covered before actually structuring the team/s. Identifying the people who can and will participate is the main objective in the beginning.

Note:  If your interest is in building a CERT team at the workplace, check out this Advisory.

If you are an employer looking for more guidance regarding workplace preparedness, and are ready to delve into the regulations surrounding this area, OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Administration — has published a number of informational factsheets on workplace emergencies and workplace preparedness.

Among them:

Planning and Responding to Workplace Emergencies

This two-page overview lists requirements for companies with more than 10 employees. Sections of the report include:

o Planning
o Chain of Command
o Emergency Response Teams
o Response Activities
o Employee Training
o Personal Protection
o Medical Assistance

How to Plan for Workplace Emergencies and Evacuations (OSHA 3088)

A far more comprehensive document, this 25-page report is written for the employer, to make sure the employer is following all required and recommended procedures to protect the business. This document covers all the items listed in the fact sheet above, with particular attention to fires and evacuations. A comprehensive flowchart on page 11 determines just who is required to have a written Emergency Action Plan.

Both OSHA reports are available at www.osha.gov.

Step-by-step to workplace preparedness

Simple Plans for Small Businesses

If you own or work in a small business, you may still require a plan.  In the absense of more formal arrangements, download the Emergency Plan Guide’s Seven Steps to Workplace Preparedness.  It will give you a place to start.

Follow up with other Advisories that deal with finding workplace leaders and assembling your workplace emergency response team.

In our last post we talked about the importance of making sure employees have an out-of-region emergency contact person so they can find out what is happening to other family members.  When employees know family members are safe, they can turn their attention to the business.

Naturally, having a plan will help employees take action promptly and effectively.

Basic planning can save lives and save your job.

Seven Steps to Workplace Preparedness

Even if you are not the employer, you can take the responsibility to organize your workplace. This action can save lives as well as save the business – and your income.

We have developed a one-page poster to help you get started. It is designed to raise awareness and start conversations about workplace survival. Share it with your co-workers, hang it in the break room or bathroom. Make copies — and get started on a plan.

Action Item:  Download “Seven Steps to Workplace Preparedness” now.

Batteries! Gotta have ’em!

If you are suddenly separated from your electrical outlets, you are going to quickly realize that the only real alternative is whatever supply of working batteries you have on hand.  You will require them for flashlights, communications, computing and virtually any electrical tool or device you require . . . even entertainment.

Winner in test

Batteries come in a wide variety of sizes and values.  Most of the batteries that power flashlights, portable radios, popular games, etc. are all rated at 1.5 volts.  The bigger they are, the more amps they can produce (amperage = direct current flow). You probably have a lot of devices that require the small AAA and AA sizes and some larger equipment that requires the larger sizes C and D.

What about rechargeable batteries?

If you’re tempted to rely on rechargeable batteries, you might want to consider the fact that rechargeable batteries don’t last as long as their disposable counterparts and what source of power will you use to recharge them if the wall plugs don’t work?

If the obvious conclusion is the purchase and storage of disposable batteries, how many do you purchase, what sizes and how long is their shelf life? The reality is that these batteries have a limited life span and you will need more of some sizes than others.

Winner in our 2012 battery test?  Energizer.

Batteries kept in electronic devices or stored on shelves will gradually lose their power.  Some batteries deteriorate faster than others.  We have tested various brands in our neighborhood C.E.R.T. organization over a ten year period.  The Energizer Brand seems to be the best for long-term use.  (We have never had any breakdowns).

The other major brand we used to use, Duracell, has proven unreliable over long periods. The casings break down over time and the leakage ruins the electronic device.  If you go with Duracell, be sure to check your devices frequently after a year of use.  Duracell also makes a premium brand that is used by police and fire departments that may prove more reliable, but they aren’t available everywhere and are more expensive.

Joe Krueger
Emergency Plan Guide

P.S. We regularly test batteries and update our findings. This Advisory was written in 2012. Head over to the SEARCH bar and plug in “batteries” to get the latest.