MISSION STATEMENT
The Southern Marin CERT Leadership Council is committed to providing leadership and service to the community we serve in the event of a disaster or other emergency. We will strive to provide training and support to our communities; and emergency response to aid our families, neighborhoods, and public safety professionals.
Celebrations Planned for Opening of Sausalito Public Safety Buildings
Two special celebration events are in the planning stages for the opening of the new public safety buildings in Sausalito. The new fire and police buildings will host a pancake breakfast and open house on Sunday, August 29th from 7 am to 11 am at 333 Johnson St., the sight of the new fire station. CERT members are needed to assist with serving food, clean-up, staffing a CERT information table, giving station tours, and other duties.
The second event will be the grand opening celebration scheduled for Saturday, September 11th from 5 pm to 10 pm. The event will feature speeches from local dignitaries, ribbon cutting ceremony, food, bar, live music, raffle prizes, and more. Many organizations are participating with these events including Southern Marin Fire, Sausalito Police, SM CERT, Sausalito VIPS, the City of Sausalito Parks and Recreation Dept., Lion's Club, Sausalito Rotary, Women's Club, Chamber of Commerce, and others. Again, CERT members are needed to assist with many tasks. If you are willing to volunteer, please email Yleanna Garcia at friendsofsmcert@yahoo.com with your availability. We hope to see you all there!
CERT Day with the San Francisco Giants
Come join us for a fun filled afternoon at AT&T Park in San Francisco as the Giants take on the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday, September 30th. Game time is 12:45 pm. The Larkspur ferry leaves the terminal at 11 am. Game tickets are $26.00 (does not include ferry tickets) and will benefit our non-profit Friends of Southern Marin CERT. Please make checks out to, Friends of SM CERT, and mail your check to Friends of SM CERT, 308 Reed Blvd., Mill Valley, CA 94941. You may also bring your check to the CERT BBQ on August 14th. Please write your name, phone number and CERT division number on your check. Tickets are non-refundable. Hurry, seats are limited!
Sausalito to Host Disaster Preparedness Day
The City of Sausalito will hold it's annual Disaster Preparedness Day on Saturday, October 16th, from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Bay Model parking lot on Marinship Way.
This is a great event that will feature public safety static displays from the Southern Marin Fire District, the Sausalito Police Dept., CHP, USCG, Marin County Sheriff's Office, the County Search & Rescue Team, and REACH or Cal Star Air Ambulance.
There will also be local organizational groups on hand to discuss and give out information regarding disaster preparedness. These groups include the Southern Marin Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), The Sausalito Volunteers in Public Safety (VIPS), the Marin Disaster Council, American Red Cross, Get Ready Marin, Marin Humane Society, Salvation Army, and The United Way.
There will also be local vendors in attendence that specialize in emergency equipment and supplies for your home, family, and businesses.
We will be looking for SM CERT members to assist with staffing an informational table during the event. And to staff the CERT Trailer for tours and answer questions from the public. Please RSVP to Larry Yoell at SMFD if you can assist. 388-8182
Be Sure and Check the CERT Calendar for Upcoming Training Opportunities
Many training opportunities will be offered this summer through the Southern Marin Fire District and the CERT program. Be sure and check the CERT Calendar on this website for drill and class opportunities.
Friends of Southern Marin CERT Newsletter coming soon.
Keep an eye out for a new twist in communication with all the CERT responders in Southern Marin. A newsletter, which will be sent by email to all CERT members, will be coming soon. CERT members will be kept up to date on current issues, drills, and their own CERT OES responder status through the newsletter. Final touches are being put into the program, and the first issue should be sent out very soon. This is a great way to better streamline communications to all CERT members. The hope is to stimulate more participation, and to use this as a motivational and recruiting tool for the future.
Marin County Public Safety Agencies Pushing for CERT Course Standardization by 2011
Representitives and CERT coordinators from most Marin County public safety agencies have had three meetings over the past few months in an attempt to move towards the standardization of the CERT courses by 2011. The goal is to schedule 10 courses throughout the County of Marin throughout the year beginning in January 2011. The County was divided into 5 zones (West Marin, Southern Marin, Central Marin, San Rafael-Marinwood, and Novato).Each zone would be responsible for hosting 2 classes per year. The student manual and power point presentation that had been adopted by the County of Marin back in 2000, and revised in 2005, will be used as course materials initially. The goal will be to update the ciriculum to further enhance the learning experience for all students from all parts of Marin.
It was also tentatively agreed upon that the course will be 15 hours in length, and will include an hour lunch break each day. Course fees will be $30.00 per person, and include a CERT helmet, vest, eye protection, student manual and certificate of completion. Specific dates and times of the ten classes will be released later this year. Some daytime classes may also be offered.
By moving towards standardization and working together, the CERT program within Marin County will be more likely to be an attractive target for State and Federal grant awards.
Keep checking this website for future developments regarding the County-wide CERT goal.
Marin County Supervisor Charles McGlashan Donates Funding for Third CERT Disaster Trailer
Supervisor Charles McGlashan, who represents Southern Marin, has agreed to donate approx. $10,000.00 of his discretionary funding next fiscal year 2010-11 for the purchase and outfitting of the third disaster response trailer. Supervisor McGlashan made the announcement at the Fire & ICE Ball on April 3rd. He had just recieved the 'Award of Excellence' from the Friends of Southern Marin CERT for his past and continued support of the CERT programs in Southern Marin. The hope is to have the trailer outfitted with equipment sometime within the next year. It will be placed at the Sausalito fire station on Johnson St.
CERT Disaster Trailer to Greatly Benefit Community Disaster Response
The Southern Marin Fire District, and the non-profit Friends of Southern Marin CERT, are proud to announce that the first CERT Disaster Response Trailer is now fully equipped and ready for response to disasters or other emergencies where CERT teams are needed.
This resource will be of great benefit to aid the local communities in the event of disasters such as earthquakes, large scale vegetation or interface fires, flooding and storm damage, or other form of emergency.
The goal is to add a second identical trailer sometime before the end of 2009. The trailers will be available for CERT team response from the Southern Marin fire stations in Strawberry and Tam Valley. The hope is to add a third trailer in 2010-2011 in Sausalito with cooperation from the City of Sausalito and it's City Council for funding.
Photos of the trailer may be seen on the photo page of this website.
Response and Communications Plans Receive Preliminary Approval by OES
The Southern Marin CERT Emergency Response and Contingency Plan, along with the CERT Communications Plan, were presented and given preliminary approval for implementation at the local level by the Marin Office of Emergency Services recently. Chief Jim Irving, along with Engineer/Paramedic Larry Yoell, Tom Jordan, and Reva Saper made the presentation to OES staff and County Supervisors McGlashan and Adams. It was very well receieved and approval for implementation was granted. The final draft of the communications plan should be completed by the middle of February. It is our hope and goal that the plans may serve as a template for other county communities. The Town of Corte Madera has already begun adoption of the plan, and the City of San Rafael is considering it. (Dec. 2008)
CERT Course Schedule for 2010
The schedule for the 2010 CERT courses offered in Southern Marin have been posted. You can find the dates of the 4 offered courses by opening the link to the CERT course brochure in the right hand column of this page. (Dec. 2009)
Marin 'MEANS' and SM CERT Response Plan
The Southern Marin CERT Response and Contingency Plan has been reviewed and approved by Fire Chief Jim Irving. Copies of the plan will be made available on-line soon. Copies of the plan have already been distributed to the Division Supervisors.
Additionally, the Marin MEANS (Marin Emergency Activation & Notification System) has been adopted as the tool to activate and notify CERT Division Supervisors when CERT team activation is needed. The Marin County Office of Emergency Services provided the software for the program. The system systematically calls pre-designated home, cell and work phone numbers leaving a voice message with specific information and instructions.
A test was conducted in July and was successful. Future tests of the system will be coming. The system may be activated by Southern Marin Fire personnel from the three fire stations, and from the mobile data computers in District fire apparatus'.
The goal is to have the response plan and the communications plan approved by Marin OES.
Amateur Radio Operators needed!
The Southern Marin CERT Leadership Council is seeking interested CERT members and community persons to become HAM radio operators.
The Southern Marin CERT Response Plan and the forthcoming radio and communications plan should be in place by the end of October. We participated in the County-Wide Silver Sentinel disaster drill on October 23rd. During the drill, Southern Marin CERT response teams were activated and the radio plan utilized.The drill went well as the field emergency information was successfully transmitted to the County of Marin EOC.
For more information regarding HAM radio certification, contact Tom Scott at tscott@onstreammedia.com
Classes are offered often within the Southern Marin area. Also, see the schedule of classes and drill opportunities posted in the right hand column of this page.
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Southern Marin Community Response Teams
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What is CERT?
Simply put, Community Emergency Response Teams are groups of amateur emergency workers. CERT personnel receive basic training from emergency response professionals and work in the initial aftermath of a disaster to augment official emergency services. CERT members are not intended to replace a community's professional response capability, but rather to serve as an important supplement to it.
The Community Emergency Response Team concept was developed and implemented by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985. They recognized that citizens would very likely be on their own during the early stages of a catastrophic disaster. Accordingly, LAFD decided that some basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills would improve the ability of citizens to survive until professional responders or other assistance could arrive. The Whittier Narrows earthquake of 1987 underscored the threat of a major disaster in California and the need for training civilians in the CERT concept. As a result, LAFD created the Disaster Preparedness Division with the purpose of training citizens in CERT. That training proved to be so beneficial that the Federal Emergency Management Agency felt that the concept and the program should be made available to communities nationwide. With the cooperation of the LAFD, FEMA's Emergency Management Institute expanded the CERT training materials to make them applicable to all hazards.
Why is CERT needed?
Obviously, the best source of help in an emergency or disaster is the paid or volunteer professional responder. Unfortunately, professional responders such as fire departments and police are often overwhelmed in a major emergency.
For example, an average arrangement for a city of 100,000 people is to staff two police stations and five fire stations, with approximately 40 firefighters with 10 pieces of fire apparatus and 30 police on duty at any given time. This would be adequate for normal emergencies, rescues and crime control. The average emergency rescue is completed in less than 30 minutes and the rescuers outnumber the victims 4 to 1.
If a massive emergency such as an earthquake were to affect only two percent of the community, there are instantly 2,000 victims, many with injuries. If only professionals respond to this disaster, the results are devastating. 2,000 victims divided by 0.5 hours per rescue equals 1000 hours. With ten rescue trucks, that means there are 100 hours of rescues. As many as 3/4 of the victims could die waiting for rescue. After and hour and a half, shock victims would begin to die. After 24 hours, trapped children and elderly would begin to die of thirst. After 48 hours, otherwise healthy adults would begin to die. Most of these deaths could be prevented by early rescue and simple first aid. Community Emergency Response Teams can help fill the void.
What do CERT members do?
According to Webster's Dictionary, a disaster is "any event that overwhelms existing resources to deal with the event." Disasters may be natural events such as earthquakes, fires, floods, or may be caused by human actions such as a terrorist act, civil disturbances, or hazardous materials incidents.
People naturally respond to disaster. Those who are not injured are more often than not drawn to help those who are. The "volunteerism" was particularly notable during disasters such as the Loma Prieta Earthquake, the Oakland Hills Fire, and the Northridge earthquake. People want to help. In the immediate aftermath of disaster, CERT's are far more effective than the average untrained citizen.
Community Emergency Response Teams are trained in basic emergency response procedures such as:
• Conducting an initial size-up of the situation in their immediate area
• Reducing immediate dangers by turning off utilities, suppressing small fires, and evacuating hazardous areas
• Performing immediate medical triage and basic treatment of injuries
• Assessing structural integrity and performing light search and rescue
• Collecting and recording vital information to be relayed to professional responders on damage, victims, and actions taken or resources needed
• Providing leadership to untrained volunteers
In a large scale disaster, self-reliance and the use of volunteers will be necessary. With this in mind, the Fire Departments and Districts in Marin County have undertaken a program of Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) for civilians.
A new CERT program and manual have been developed under the auspices of the Marin County Disaster Council (DISCO) based on the Federal CERT program.
This shortened version (10 hours) with more hands-on experience, will be taught to Marin County residents by Marin Fire Agency personnel. The intent is to train and prepare volunteers to achieve a higher level of basic skills in:
• earthquake survival
• fire prevention and suppression
• search and rescue / disaster first aid
• emergency preparedness
The Fire Departments and Districts in Southern Marin have joined together to teach the CERT program. A choice of two class formats is now available for this 10 hour series.
Option 1: two five hour classes offered over 1 weekend. Saturday and Sunday. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Option 2: a five hour class on two consecutive Saturdays. 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
All trainees receive a CERT manual, and a BBQ lunch is provided during the second class. Upon completion, each trainee will receive a disaster service worker ID card, helmet, vest, and certificate of completion.
Interested persons must call ahead to sign up for a particular class. Call 388-8182 for information. Special scheduling for groups of 15-25 can be arranged.
Cost: $35.00 for individuals; $65.00 for two members of the same family.
Make checks payable to SM CERT, and mail to: Southern Marin CERT, C/O Southern Marin Fire District, 308 Reed Blvd., Mill Valley, CA 94941.
Marin OES: Office of Emergency Services
Disaster Service Worker Form
The form that CERT students fill out during the initial course is a standard State of California form. This form gets filled out and filed with the County OES office for many different reasons and job descriptions. One of which is the 'Community Disaster Service Worker'. After the student is 'sworn in', this form protects the disaster service worker from liabilites while performing their trained duties. It also entitles the disaster worker to workers compensation protection in the event of injury or illness occuring during the performance of their duties. It does not allow the State of California, or the Federal Government, to mandate a disaster worker to be available for disaster response. The CERT responder must be re-sworn every 4 years as per federal mandate.
There have been some concerns from CERT responders regarding this issue. Hopefully this answers those questions.
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Southern Marin CERT: Division Information
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HOME: 331-2051
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Old fire station #2; Spencer Ave. @ Highway 101
Division 1B: Sausalito / Wolfback Ridge
Karen Scholz: Division Supervisor
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: 8 Wolkback Ridge
Division 1C: Sausalito / Spencer-Rodeo
Pat Howe: Division Supervisor
CELL: 465-0267
HOME: 289-0524
CALL SIGN: K16Q00H
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Park at Sausalito City Hall
Division 1D: Sausalito / Rodeo-North
Sandra MacLeod-White:
Division Supervisor
fashion_focus@yahoo.comPrimary Staging Area/Command Post: Old MLK School gym Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: IFO 3030 Bridgeway
Division 4A: Tam Valley / Tennessee Valley
Richard Skaff: Division Supervisor
CALL SIGN: Ki6RiQ
CELL: 497-1091
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Tam Valley Improvement Club; Marin Ave. & Tennessee Valley Rd.
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Eastwood Park
Division 4B: Tam Valley / Almonte-Loring
: Division Supervisor
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Tamalpais Academy School; Wellesley Ave.
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Park and Ride lot; Almonte & Miller Ave.
Division 4C: Tam Valley / Homestead Valley
Jim Derich: Division Supervisor
Cell: 847-7667
Home: 388-8310
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Homestead Community Center; 315 Montford Ave.
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Volunteer Park; Melrose & Evergreen Ave.
Division 9A: Strawberry / Seminary
Rick Rossi: Division Supervisor
CELL: 994-4427
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Strawberry Shores Apartments Club House; 111 Seminary Dr.
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Seminary Parking Lots; Gilbert Dr. & Schuck Dr.
Division 9B: Strawberry / Alto / Bayvista
Claire Wylde: Division Supervisor
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Strawberry Recreation District
Division 9C: Strawberry / Reedlands / BelAire
Judy Bloch: Division Supervisor
Allan Bortel: Division Supervisor
inverness@earthlink.netPrimary Staging Area/Command Post: End of cul de sac IFO 8 Corte Palos Verdes Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Cecilia Place & Leland Way
Division 3A: Marin City / Bowl
OPEN: Division Supervisor:
Command Post: Manzanita Center; Drake Ave.
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: St. Andrews Church; Drake Ave.
Division 3B: Marin City / Docks
Ray Dunaway: Division Supervisor
CELL: 990-0091
Primary Staging Area/Command Post: Waldo Point Harbor Offices parking lot
Secondary Staging Area/Command Post: Kappas Marina green
Division 5A: Throckmorton Ridge / Panoramic
Richard Popson: Division Supervisor
Primary Command Post / Staging Area: Throckmorton Ridge fire station; Panoramic Highway
Division 5C: Muir Beach / Muir Woods
Michael Kaufman: Division Supervisor
CELL: 730-4947
HOME: 338-5018
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Southern Marin CERT Divisions
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Leadership Council
The Southern Marin CERT organization is comprised of Public Safety Professionals, Southern Marin CERT Division Supervisors & Community Leaders. The council sets short, medium and long range goals and objectives for the CERT program. Planning for future growth of the program, organizing and conducting advanced CERT trainings, and communicating information to CERT trained members in the community are among the other responsibilities of the council. Committees have been established to address specific areas of concern such as emergency communications and finance issues.
Larry Yoell
Southern Marin CERT Program Coordinator
Engineer/Paramedic
Southern Marin Fire District
388-8182
Randy Engler
Senior Captain
Marin County Fire Dept.
446-4463
Reva Saper
Marin County DC3
Nan Paget
Secretary of Council
Tom Jordan
Project Consultant
Elisabeth Thomas-Matej
Southern Marin RACES Liaison
SM CERT Communication Supervisor
Yleanna Garcia
CERT Database, Newsletter, Events & Special Projects
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