Some Winter Safety Tips from USFA

Some Winter Safety Tips from USFA: "This is from the Family Preparedness Newsletter:

Winter is an especially dangerous time for home fires, as space heaters, holiday lights and candles get more use - it is no surprise that fires in the home are more common between December and February. The U.S. Fire Administration is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and their Web site has a wealth of information to help make this holiday season both warm and safe:

Fire Safety Tips: [ http://www.firesafety.gov/citizens/firesafety/index.shtm ]

• Never underestimate your children's curiosity about fire [ http://www.usfaparents.gov/matches/ ]. Strongly discourage casual contact with matches and lighters.
• Have smoke detector [ http://www.firesafety.gov/citizens/alarms/index.shtm ] on every floor of your home, and test them every month.
• Sadly, two-thirds of home fires that kill children under age 5 occur in homes without a working smoke alarm. [ http://www.usfaparents.gov/alarms/ ]
• Devise a home fire escape plan [ http://www.usfaparents.gov/escape/ ] and practice it with your family.
• Change your smoke detector batteries when you change your clocks.
• Learn about residential sprinkler systems [ http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/all_citizens/home_fire_prev/sprinklers/ ].
• When traveling, search this database for Hotel/Motel Fire-Safe List. [ http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/hotel/ ]
  

Resources:

• The U.S. Fire Administration provides informative resources [ https://www.usfa.dhs.gov/applications/publications/ ] in many formats, including books, pamphlets and DVD's, *free of charge**.*
• Click here [ http://www.usfaparents.gov/materials/ ] for a fact sheet on fire safety for babies and toddlers in multiple languages.
• Click here [ http://www.firesafety.gov/kids/index.shtm ] for kid-friendly projects and information about children and fire safety.

Also, we have posted about the hazards of dry trees in the past but if you decorate with a live tree, be sure to keep it watered -- here is a link to a video for how fast a dry tree can get engulfed in flames.

Cathleen

"

Citizen Corps News: Citizen Corps Announces New Social Media Tools

Citizen Corps News: Citizen Corps Announces New Social Media Tools: "

Citizen Corps Widgets: www.citizencorps.gov/widgets/

Widgets are web tools that can be put on your webpage, blog, and social media sites. Citizen Corps' widgets are free and display information provided by FEMA's Community Preparedness Division through continually updated data feeds. Citizen Corps widgets are easily placed on your web page by copying the code of the widget and placing it within the html code of your web site's editor. CitizenCorps.gov currently offers three widgets in several sizes:

• Citizen Corps Logo Widget

• This widget provides quick links to Citizencorps.gov and FEMA's email updates during disasters webpage.

• Community Preparedness News Widget

• This widget provides regularly updated community preparedness news from FEMA's Community Preparedness Division.

• Are You Ready? Widget

• This widget enables users to search for Citizen Corps Councils and partners close to them.

Citizen Corps Web Banners: www.citizencorps.gov/councils/banners.shtm

Web banners are graphic files that can be used by individuals to link from their website to CitizenCorps.gov. These banners are free and are available in several styles and sizes.

Citizen Corps RSS Feeds: www.citizencorps.gov/rss/

RSS feeds provide subscribers with automated updated information through user-defined applications without having to continually visit CitizenCorps.gov. These RSS feeds can be imported into self-made widgets and many other social media sites. CitizenCorps.gov currently offers two RSS feeds:

• National Community Preparedness News Feed

• This RSS feed provides users with the latest Community Preparedness news and events from various departments of the Federal Government and our National Citizen Corps Partners and Affiliates. The goal of this feed is to provide our users with one National-level feed to receive up-to-date information on individual and community preparedness issues, events, and best practices.

• Local Citizen Corps in the News Feed

• This RSS feed provides users with information on activities and events of Citizen Corps Councils, Partners, and Affiliates from across the nation. The goal of this feed is to share community preparedness and Citizen Corps best practices and lessons learned.

Citizen Corps Twitter: www.twitter.com/citizen_corps

Twitter is a Microblog that gives FEMA's Community Preparedness Division the opportunity to provide users with specific community preparedness information in a timely manner. Current followers of the Citizen Corps account include Citizen Corps Councils and partners, the emergency management community, and the general public.

Citizen Corps News Emails: www.citizencorps.gov/subscribe.shtm

Citizen Corps also promotes transparent communication and collaboration through using an email subscription service that allows any visitor to the CitizenCorps.gov website to register to receive Citizen Corps News updates and to receive updates during disasters in their local area.

FEMA FaceBook: www.facebook.com/fema

Citizen Corps regularly contributes to the FEMA Facebook page to provide disaster preparedness information to the general public and information on how citizens can get involved in preparing their communities.

Sincerely,

The National Office of Citizen Corps
FEMA Community Preparedness Division

Disposable soft Go Stretcher for just $19 - that's right under twenty dollars!

The GO Stretcher can be used in the following ways:

As a Disposable Emergency Stretcher for everyday use.

As a Disposable Emergency Stretcher for Mass Causality and Disaster Preparedness.

As a Disposable Backboard cover and Strapping Support System

As a Disposable Patient Transfer System to move the patient from the backboard to the hospital gurney.

As a Disposable Gurney Sheet.

As a Search and Rescue Gurney.

As a Disposable Patient Transfer System to move the patient from the bed to a chair and back.

As a Seated Patient Evacuation System


Product Specifications:

Will hold over 500-lb load capacity.

Features (10) large hand holds which allow for easy patient handling and ease of product use.

Lowest cost Emergency Stretcher available today.

Water resistant coated woven polyethylene provides strength and durability.

Latex free.

Stretcher size with handles is 35" x71 "

Individually packaged and labeled, comes (50) units per case or sold individually.

Here's a link to the webpage. http://www.lifemedicalsupplier.com/disposable-soft-go-stretcher-ref-305100ds-p-366.html

CERT National Newsletter is now available

The CERT National Program Office is pleased to announce that Volume 2, Issue 3 of the CERT National Newsletter is now posted on the CERT National website. Click on the following link to access the new edition: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/newsletter.shtm {editor's note: this issue includes the Palomar Mountain, AMGEN Tour of California bike race where our San Diego County CERT's helped out}.


We hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter and the stories about how CERT programs around the country are engaging in drills and exercises to maintain and enhance CERT members’ skills. From regional CERT Olympics in Texas and a regional CERT rodeo in Oregon and Washington State, to the AMGEN Tour of California bicycle race, to search and rescue exercises in Ohio and Virginia, and more, CERTs around the country are finding innovative and interesting ways to train.

The issue also features a request for CERT programs to submit their own drills and exercises for inclusion in upcoming publications from the CERT National Program Office.

If you know of others who would be interested in receiving CERT news and updates, please have them subscribe at the following website: http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/subscribe.shtm. Thank you.



Sincerely,
CERT National Program Office
Community Preparedness Division
Federal Emergency Management Agency

New Product: GlovePaq™

Here is the link to a product called GlovePaq which I found at the Mira Mesa Home Depot for under six dollars!
GlovePaq™

It allows you to clip 5 pairs of Nitrile Gloves to your belt, Go-Bag, vest or even put in a pocket so that they are always handy. They dispense one glove at a time, cuff first and are made of medical grade Nitrile which are tougher that latex gloves. The dispenser comes with a refill pack, so you actually get 10 pairs of gloves for one low price.

Good videos on the S.T.A.R.T. system for triage

Previously posted on Mira Mesa CERT blog.

(Click title link below to go there.)

Simple Triage And Rapid Treatment Training

Here is a great website with detailed instructions in using the START system.  http://www.citmt.org/start/default.htm

If you just want to see videos of the various phases of START, click the following links in order. http://www.citmt.org/start/video/resp.wmv
http://www.citmt.org/start/video/perfus.wmv
http://www.citmt.org/start/video/mental.wmv 

Safety in the After Disaster Environment

Safety in the After Disaster Environment: "

	Safety in the After Disaster Environment Department of Homeland Security US Fire Academy prepnet (EENET) DVD Library CERT Training - "Safety in the After Disaster Environment" Air Date: February 15, 2006. This broadcast prepares Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) members for the types of hazards encountered after a disaster and discusses safety while working in the disaster affected area. E202	From: PublicResourceOrg Views: 351 2 ratings
	Time: 31:48	More in Education

"

Scanning documents for your Emergency Survival Kit

Scanning documents for your Emergency Survival Kit: "

As we’ve mentioned here before, September is National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort to increase awareness as well as encourage individuals, families, businesses and communities to take action and prepare for emergencies. One of the most crucial aspects of preparation for an emergency is having the right supplies – an Emergency Survival Kit.

The Ready America website encourages everyone to prepare an emergency survival kit with basics such as fresh water, food, a dust mask, and medical supplies. Also included on the survival kit checklist is a collection of important documents such as copies of insurance policies, personal identification, bank account records. In the event of an emergency or natural disaster, would you be able to quickly locate and pack all of these documents without putting yourself or your family at greater risk?

Digitize and secure your important family documents. In addition to having all of your paper documents stored in a safe place, you could also have a portable, digital library of your family’s important information, in the event of an emergency such as a fire or flood. Imagine having your entire family’s birth certificates, medical records, insurance policies, and financial information all archived onto a tiny portable USB drive, packed in your Survival Kit and ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Visit the Ready.gov website to learn more about creating an Emergency Survival Kit for your family.

"

“Information Trickles Up” Article On How Communication Flows In Disasters

I found this on the "In Case of Emergency" blog and recommend this article to anyone interested in disaster communications.  Here is the blog article with excerpts of the report:

“Information Trickles Up” Article On How Communication Flows In Disasters: "
An interesting and comprehensive piece on the changing paradigm of disaster communications, “Information Trickles Up,” by Jerry Brito and Daniel M. Rothschild was recently posted on the Local Knowledge project site of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The authors write:

The traditional view of disaster communications holds that in an emergency, information and instructions must flow from an informed federal government, down to local communities and individuals. This view is dangerous and potentially harmful because it fails to distinguish sharing information from centrally controlling decision making. Traditional post-disaster communication centers on issuing orders rather than sharing information; it tells individuals what to do rather than empowering them to make their own decisions.

This experts-know-best mentality can be especially dangerous during and immediately after disasters. Because disasters are unplanned, attempting to conform them to normative prescriptions can create immense harm. Encouraging widespread dissemination of timely information, by contrast, does not make assumptions about what will happen in the future.

However, using a number of case studies from recent emergencies (including from Mercatus’ own extensive work in the Gulf Coast post-Katrina), the authors outline a new view of disaster communications. They conclude:

Information is only useful in context; knowing that the Earth revolves around the sun matters for the study of the cosmos, but it does not make much of a difference to our daily lives. During and after disasters, the context-the situation on the ground-is constantly changing, and information adjusts with it. Information is most useful when it is timely, accurate, and intelligible; that is, when it helps people make informed decisions about how to best deal with and recover from disasters. And that information is best produced and disseminated on a local level.

The traditional model of how information is produced and disseminated during and after disasters is based on old and disproven assumptions: that a central planner knows best and can disseminate orders to the masses, who must follow these directives. This model was churlish before the widespread democratization of information and communication technologies; today it is positively antiquated. As we have seen in the aftermath of disasters both natural and man-made, information travels in a variety of directions and through a variety of means. Attempts to control the spread of information will only be counterproductive, as people want information on which they can make informed decisions, not orders about what to do.

Because during and after a disaster everyone knows something — and nobody knows everything — the goal should be to aggregate and disseminate accurate information in a timely way. And the best way to do that is to respect that everyday citizens are producers and disseminators, and not just consumers, of all-critical information.

If you would like to read the full report, follow this Link and look for the "Information Trickles Up" article about midway down the blog page.

Intro to CERT Training Video

Good general introduction to what CERT does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyLj7ZehJyI