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une 11, 2011 (Julian) -- Disaster Service Volunteers from across San Diego County will converge on the town of Julian Saturday morning to sharpen their skills during a “very realistic” 12-hour emergency response exercise.
As many as 200 citizen volunteers, all trained as Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, are expected to participate in the exercise hosted by Julian CERT and the Julian Cuyamaca Fire Protection District, with support from Cal Fire, FEMA, Citizens Corps, SDGE/Sempra Energy, San Diego County Emergency Medical Services, Girl Scouts San Diego, Boy Scouts of America San Diego-Imperial Council, American Red Cross, American Legion, Ramona Emergency Assistance League and other local backcountry organizations.
“Trained Emergency Response Team Members from Julian, Ramona, Shelter Valley, Descanso, Campo, Warner Springs, Valley Center, Fallbrook, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Escondido, San Marcos, Vista, Oceanside, Encinitas, Coronado, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and other local communities have registered to participate in this unique training event,” said Johnny A. Hake, Training Coordinator for Julian CERT. “We believe that the extraordinary CERT Teams in the San Diego region are among the best trained and bestprepared disaster volunteers you’ll find anywhere.”
Some of the details of the Saturday exercise are being kept confidential for training reasons, but organizers promise a “very realistic mix of wild fire, earthquake and other unexpected disaster scenarios all day Saturday and into the nighttime hours.” Participation is strictly limited to citizen volunteers who have previously completed a regimen of FEMA-approved CERT training modules, administered by local fire departments around San Diego County.
The June 11 exercise in Julian will simulate actual disaster conditions, and participants have been advised to be prepared to be completely self sufficient by bringing along survival gear, food and water to sustain themselves for 24 hours, just as they would in a real disaster deployment.
The day’s exercises will follow Federal Incident Command (ICS) protocols and will include:
-- Shelter Mobilization and Demobilization
-- Emergency Medical Point of Distribution (POD) Mobilization
-- Light Search and Rescue, Medical and Triage
-- ICS Incident Command System Training and ICS Jeopardy
-- Damage Assessment / Mapping of Affected Neighborhoods
The latest digital technology will play a part in the day’s activities, including specialized emergency radio communications, a self-contained data messaging system, and GPS locator devices used for light search and rescue exercises.
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