Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and other volunteer groups in Sacramento, Calif., would be pressed into action should a levy break on the Sacramento River in south Sacramento. That was the scenario June 17, during an exercise that included more than 150 volunteers and representatives from the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security, Volunteers in Police Service, and Sacramento County Sheriff Search and Rescue (SAR).
A break in the Sacramento River levee would unleash a torrent of water into residential neighborhoods, replacing tranquility with havoc and destruction. First responders won't be everywhere, and that's when the availability of trained volunteers becomes important.
"It's crucial," said Capt. Rich Shiraishi of the Sacramento Regional Office of Homeland Security. "As we learned with past disasters the community is a critical element for not only response but prevention and mitigation."
In this exercise, Shiraishi and his staff witnessed the large number of volunteers playing out a scenario where a south Sacramento levee broke and put residents in danger. The drill started when the theoretical EOC activated the local CERTs to begin planning to evacuate and aid residents.
At the heart of the exercise was communication as drill coordinators barked orders on ham radios to teams to locate residents and tend to evacuees. Confusion was present and there was confusion among volunteers over acronyms such as IC (incident command) and CP (command post).
But that's why they practice.
Shiraishi told the group prior to the exercise, "It's ok to make mistakes." CERT drill coordinator Patti Pearson told the volunteers, "Keep communicating. There's no excuse for not knowing what's going on."
A second breach in the levy made the situation even more dire, and volunteers were dispatched to rescue residents forced out of their homes. The evacuees, some injured, were brought to the SAR trailer for care. Pets and fragile care folks, such as the elderly and infirmed, needed special attention from the volunteers.
The drills gave coordinators and volunteers and good dose of practice on how to communicate effectively and quickly, and take note of what might go wrong. The situation was turned on its head when a boiler room explosion -- where some of the evacuees were being held - injured and/or many of them.
"Once the flash-bang goes off you can start moaning and groaning and that kind of stuff," Pearson told the volunteers. Police then set off a loud -- really loud -- device replicating an explosion, setting off a chain of moans and groans of bloodied victims, some conscious, some not.
Volunteers descended upon the scene and gathered the walking wounded while waiting for emergency personnel to arrive and treat the more seriously injured.
"Come to my voice if you are able to walk," said a rescuer who took the walking wounded to another site. Volunteers then began assessing the conditions of those left at the scene.
Meanwhile back at IC, there's notice of hazardous materials near the explosion site, and coordinators try to piece together a strategy for assembling a decontamination team and locating any materials that might mitigate the contamination. That meant getting on the radio and locating individuals trained in decontamination who could be dispatched to the scene with the proper materials.
Capt. Shiraishi said it's difficult for police to find time to coordinate and attend these types of drills -- but it's crucial. "We're going to do it more often."
A victim in the training exercise.
This victim waits to be freed
from beneath a wood plank.
Many victims during the CERT training
are trapped under file cabinets
and wood planks, and must await rescue.
A CERT trainee helps rescue a victim during the exercise.
Photos courtesy of Officer Andy Cruz of the Sacramento Police Department.
