Plan is to train local residents for major disasters
By Beth Kuhles
The Houston Chronicle
Copyright 2007 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
Montgomery County is developing a citizen corps that can assist in local neighborhoods in the event of a large-scale disaster.
Montgomery County Commissioners Court has approved the hiring of a coordinator for the Community Emergency Response Team program, which trains residents on the basics of emergency management, such as fire suppression, medical issues, search and rescue, disaster psychology and disaster simulations.
“It involves the community coming together to assist in times of a disaster,” said Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. “They can deal with as much as they can on their own, so they are not relying on government agencies.”
Early efforts
Montgomery County already has a handful of teams trained in the new initiative, which started after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Originally developed to deal with the outcome of earthquakes in Los Angeles, the CERT program started locally with a pilot effort to train residents of the Walden neighborhood on Lake Conroe in 2002, and includes a Montgomery County-based search and rescue team as well as employees from Montgomery College.
Destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast in 2005 drove home the point that residents cannot rely solely on government agencies during large-scale emergencies. Armed with those lessons, a volunteer corps was assembled to deliver water to motorists stranded along Houston-area freeways during large-scale evacuations caused by Hurricane Rita that year.
“The action each of us takes can have a dramatic change on the outcome of an event,” said Mark Sloan, the outreach coordinator for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and executive director of the Harris County CERT program.
Montgomery County’s program is managed under the Harris County CERT program, which has trained more than 142 teams and 3,500 people in the region. While the course is not designed to train people to fight fires and attend to injuries, it does raise the awareness of the risks and surroundings to be considered during a disaster.
“We know disasters are not going to stop at the city or county line,” Sloan said. “The county is teaching how to do the right things in the right way.”
The Harris County program includes an eight-week, 24-hour course to educate volunteers in neighborhoods and workplaces throughout the area. The program even has teams in 24 high schools around the Greater Houston area.
The Montgomery County coordinator will help to train volunteers and manage the program throughout the area. The program is funded through an Urban Initiative Security Grant from the Department of Homeland Security.
“It is an extra set of eyes and ears out there,” said Nicky Kelly of the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management. “These people are not on call, but if they are there, they can help out.”
The Woodlands Fire Chief Alan Benson, who helped organize the Montgomery College effort, hopes eventually to train one CERT team per village in The Woodlands.
“We’re ready to go and excited about it,” he said.
EMERGENCY TRAINING
The Community Emergency Response Team program offers training for citizen volunteers who can assist in the event of a disaster. Montgomery County has a handful of trained citizens, including a search and rescue team, employees at Montgomery College and Walden residents. Montgomery County recently approved the hiring of a coordinator to train volunteers and to manage the program in the county. Following are some of the key elements of the training:
Disaster preparedness: Identifies types of disasters and what individuals can do before, during and after an event. Explores roles for volunteers, including operating in a safe and appropriate manner and understanding the laws covering volunteers.
Disaster fire suppression: Covers use of fire extinguishers, sizing up situations, controlling utilities and extinguishing a small fire as well as fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards and fire suppression techniques.
Disaster medical operation: Covers airway obstruction, bleeding, and shock using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques as well as patient evaluation, medical treatment areas, first aid and safe and sanitary operations.
Light search and rescue: Includes sizing up a situation, search and rescue techniques and rescuer safety.
Disaster psychology and team organization: Includes signs and symptoms of stress experienced by victims and workers and management and organization values.
Disaster simulation: Allows volunteers to practice skills they learned in simulated disaster situations.