Saturday, February 14, 2009
Table Top Disaster Training
Today I did a table top training with Ramsey County CERT. We were tasked with keeping the perimeter on a multiple dwelling arson. (Note to self: never say anything to reporters, especially not words like arson.)
The scenario was that we were activated 12 hours into the fire in order to relieve the strain on law enforcement from the long fire and investigation. We had 21 volunteers to work with and several maps of the affected area.
My group worked together well. We sat around the maps and talked through what we would do. Ramsey county has lots of parks, so parks are good places to stage volunteers.
We initially blockaded the street and then set up an HQ at the south blockade. We never thought to ask if we could use someone's garage for the duration of the disaster, but that was a great suggestion we received later.
From the HQ we'd coordinate with fire and police as well as the VOAD's. A VOAD is a volunteer organization active in disasters such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent, Salvation Army, pet rescue societies, Doctors without Borders, et cetera. All VOADs are NGOs, of course.
My group thought to stop traffic (in a small perimeter), but we didn't consider trying to hold a large perimeter by re-routing buses, highways, contacting the railroad to hold trains, or evacuating nearby schools and churches.
We divided our small perimeter into two sectors (hot and cold) and planned to keep a tight perimeter around the hot area. We thought the cold area would eventually be opened to people living in the area whose homes weren't affected, but we still wanted to keep them out of the hot sector (which would contain the crime scene).
One thing to always be on the lookout for at a fire is how to keep crowds of gawkers away from the scene and be on your guard for foolish behavior from firebugs.
After dark falls, the best way to keep a perimeter is with dogs. Nobody (and I do mean nobody) wants to mess with a police dog. Some people will take advantage of a tragedy to loot and you want to avoid that, but disaster scenes are inherently dangerous and especially so in the dark. Flashlights don't last very long when you're going all night.
The scenario was that we were activated 12 hours into the fire in order to relieve the strain on law enforcement from the long fire and investigation. We had 21 volunteers to work with and several maps of the affected area.
My group worked together well. We sat around the maps and talked through what we would do. Ramsey county has lots of parks, so parks are good places to stage volunteers.
We initially blockaded the street and then set up an HQ at the south blockade. We never thought to ask if we could use someone's garage for the duration of the disaster, but that was a great suggestion we received later.
From the HQ we'd coordinate with fire and police as well as the VOAD's. A VOAD is a volunteer organization active in disasters such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent, Salvation Army, pet rescue societies, Doctors without Borders, et cetera. All VOADs are NGOs, of course.
My group thought to stop traffic (in a small perimeter), but we didn't consider trying to hold a large perimeter by re-routing buses, highways, contacting the railroad to hold trains, or evacuating nearby schools and churches.
We divided our small perimeter into two sectors (hot and cold) and planned to keep a tight perimeter around the hot area. We thought the cold area would eventually be opened to people living in the area whose homes weren't affected, but we still wanted to keep them out of the hot sector (which would contain the crime scene).
One thing to always be on the lookout for at a fire is how to keep crowds of gawkers away from the scene and be on your guard for foolish behavior from firebugs.
After dark falls, the best way to keep a perimeter is with dogs. Nobody (and I do mean nobody) wants to mess with a police dog. Some people will take advantage of a tragedy to loot and you want to avoid that, but disaster scenes are inherently dangerous and especially so in the dark. Flashlights don't last very long when you're going all night.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Cross country skiing for winter search and rescue
I took up cross country skiing this winter. The woods are beautiful in Minnesota.
Classic cross country skiing is a great workout for the whole body, is low impact and a great way to get around in the snow. A good way to stay in shape throughout the year for an emergency situation.
I think it would be useful for winter search and rescue, although the skis would degrade and lose some functionality if they were used on ungroomed trails, especially on broken ground and going over sticks and rocks.
Classic cross country skiing is a great workout for the whole body, is low impact and a great way to get around in the snow. A good way to stay in shape throughout the year for an emergency situation.
I think it would be useful for winter search and rescue, although the skis would degrade and lose some functionality if they were used on ungroomed trails, especially on broken ground and going over sticks and rocks.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
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