Tri Boro Cert: Meeting Minutes -March 18, 2009

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Meeting Minutes -March 18, 2009

AGENDA
March 18, 2009

1)Review of Preparations for Exercise of March-28th-
we are to meet at 8:000 at the Palmyra Fire House
participants will be shuttled to the Palmyra Harbour Clubhouse.

a)EOC/ICS- Command Structure-
b)POD Command Structure
c)Clinic Flow Plan/Pre-Pod/ Muni- POD Floor Plan

2)Core Group Meeting for Recruitment-Team members Carol Norton Foell,Ed Spooner & Lisa Threston volunteered to represent Tri-Boro for the Committee.
This year it will take place at the Burlington Center on April 18th & 19th (Sat & Sun). We will need volunteers from our team to be available for the recruitment campaign. Please keep these dates available and let us know at next month meeting.

3)The Medford CERT had a course ”Working with the Special Needs Community" on February 24th-- both Cindi Vee & Ed Fay were on hand representing Tri-Boro. Both Cindi & Ed briefly explained to the team the details of the course,how interesting this was,and they were glad to have attended the course. This is the same course that Wayne is going to offer to our team sometime soon, once we get in on our schedule. We will keep everyone posted.

4)Activation--The Willingboro Township Police Department requested CERT assistance with a missing person search on March 6th & 7th. They were investigating the disappearance of a 76 year old female with dementia who was last seen at 9:45am on March 4th. Unfortunately during the early evening hours, the body of the missing person (deceased) was discovered along the banks of the Delaware River in Beverly. Those Tri-Boro Members that assisted were: Margaret Genzano, Mary Lou Mascarin-Szeman, Chuck Young, and Eileen Young.
Margaret and Marylou both shared their experience with the team. It was noted that they felt that had they received the "search & rescue" training they may have been better prepared, however they were commended for a job well done by not just our team, but from the county level on down.
It was also noted that the "search & rescue " training was offered last year- then postponed. Hopefully this year it will be offered again. We will put that on our wish list to Wayne Comegno for additional training.

5)Gatekeeper Tent (set-up & break-down training)-video of Training on March 14,2009, will be posted on team website.Due to technical difficulties it did not play during the course of our meeting.

6)Palmyra Safety Day- Please keep May 2nd Available – We are going to need volunteers for our CERT table.

7)Medical forms- If you have not turned your form in – please do so as soon as possible.

Adjourn meeting.

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What is CERT

The eight-week, 20-hour CERT training program is part of the nationwide Citizen Corps program, which organizes volunteer resources to respond to natural disasters.

The program is designed to train people in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety and search and rescue.

“It's important that people know how to prepare for these kinds of things, what to do in certain situations and what they can do to help their neighbor. The first moments following a disaster are crucial.”

CERT volunteers give critical support to first-responders in emergencies and provide immediate assistance to victims during disasters when traditional emergency services resources may be delayed.

Team members are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Trainees will receive basic training in such areas as first aid, family disaster preparedness, fire suppression and light search-and-rescue operations. As part of the training, they will participate in a disaster simulation.

To be eligible for training, residents must be at least 18 years old and possess a valid New Jersey driver's license.

Our Mission Statement

It is our mission to bring community and government leaders together to coordinate the involvement of community members in emergency preparedness, planning, mitigation, response and recover.
To help protect lives, property and the environment within the Tri-Boro area. (Or other location when/if needed).
CERT volunteers give critical support to First-Responders in emergencies and provide immediate assistance to victims during disasters when traditional emergency services resources may be delayed.
Team members are encouraged to support Emergency Response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

What is Skywarn?

The effects of severe weather are felt every year by many Americans. To obtain critical weather information, the National Weather Service established SKYWARN, a volunteer program with over 230,000 trained severe weather spotters. These volunteers help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate reports of severe weather to the National Weather Service.
Although SKYWARN spotters provide essential information for all types of weather hazards, the main responsibility of a SKYWARN spotter is to identify and describe severe local storms. In the average year, 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes occur across the United States. These events threatened lives and property. Since the program started in the 1970s, the information provided by SKYWARN spotters, coupled with Doppler radar technology, improved satellite and other data, has enabled the weather service to issue more timely and accurate warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms. SKYWARN storm spotters are part of the ranks of citizens who form the Nation's first line of defense against severe weather. There can be no finer reward than to know that their efforts have given communities the precious gift of time-seconds and minutes that can help save lives.

Who is Eligible?
NWS encourages anyone with an interest in public service and access to communication, such HAM radio, to join the SKYWARN program. Volunteers include police and fire personnel, dispatchers, EMS workers, public utility workers and other concerned private citizens. Individuals affiliated with hospitals, schools, churches, nursing homes or who have a responsibility for protecting others are also encouraged to become a spotter.

How Can I Get Involved?
Each year, classes are offered on the basics of thunderstorm development, fundamentals of storm structure, identifying potential severe weather features, how to report information and basic severe weather safety. Classes are free and typically are about three hours long.