BASIC "CERT" DISASTER APPROACH

1 Apr 2012

1.  PURPOSE

To share insights into major principles governing ALL Community Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) operations -- as gained through the recent CERT training course, during March 2012.

2.  MAJOR TRAINING EMPHASIS

In general, all the training seems to embrace and illuminate two KEY scenarios: 

• (1) when MANY victims are involved (calling for high-speed CERT Disaster Procedures) and 

• (2) when ONE or VERY FEW victims are involved (justifying standard FIRST AID procedures)   

3.  KEY CERT PRINCIPLES

MAJOR CERT PREMISE  #1 

"PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR PERSONAL SITUATION -- FOREMOST."

This is a theme which has been constantly stressed, throughout.  In no way is this to be perceived as an act of cowardliness or cravenness, but as simple good sense, based on experience and fore-thought. The CERT worker (always scarce) must remain fit and undistracted for duty, in order to PRESERVE CERT Team-effectiveness.

MAJOR CERT PREMISE #2 

"THE GREATEST GOOD FOR THE GREATEST NUMBERS."

This theme is also strongly emphasized, indicating just how crucial this idea is, to MAXIMIZE CERT Team-effectiveness.  In disasters, the emphasis is on saving MUCH time and MANY lives -- by doing the essential but time-consuming preliminaries -- which primary responders would normally have to do, themselves. 

The CERT UNIVERSAL ADVANTAGE is that -- the team can perform those needful tasks which do not require greater expertise -- thereby freeing other precious resources and time for more effective usages.

5.  IN OTHER WORDS

THE CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE IN "THE CERT MIND-SET."  

5.1  There is a big difference in how DISASTER VICTIMS are approached, versus "everyday" emergency victims.  Since people are basically compassionate, if they are rational:

• Naturally, any first aid background one might have, outside of a disaster setting, would also TEMPT one to stop and deal, in-depth, with injuries -- rather than make the hard choices that enable one to move on, quickly, to other victims.  

• This compassionate impulse is extremely hard to overcome -- even for the professionals.  

• Yet, it MUST be done (i.e. the impulse must be redirected) -- for the greatest good, for the greatest numbers.

5.2  The untrained natural impulse is the DIRECT OPPOSITE of how a disaster worker must proceed.

• The job is to quickly determine treatment priorities for ALL injured victims -- and use color-coded tags to clearly indicate, to professionals, the relative urgency of each case -- thereby, enabling them to quickly see what needs doing and then, to do first things first. 

• The only exception is in cases where inaction is likely to lead to rapid, avoidable death.  These are dealt with, at once.  Once under control, the CERT volunteer MUST move on to the next case.  

• Even if it SEEMS that few victims are in the immediate area, the CERT member has a duty to check with their coordinator, before "reassigning" themselves to give first-aid, in depth.  They must insure, positively that their entire area has been thoroughly searched for victims, who might be hidden from view.

• Again, this is hard to accept, without training and deliberately making the "mental shift" -- which seems to defy common sense (when casually considered) -- but which has been repeatedly PROVEN to be the BEST WAY to deal with conditions, UNIQUE to disasters.

David Nelson

All Original Content © 2012 , The MENTOR Enterprise / ELMS, All Rights Reserved -- But, I hereby suspend those rights on these conditions: You may freely copy and pass this along, if you think it will do some good -- as long as it is distributed, free of charge, unaltered in any way, and you include this statement.