October 1, 2023

CERT Auxiliary of Santa Cruz Country

Fall is Here

And so are new classes

CERT Basic Training - open to all

From one end of the County to the other

Great review for current CERTs as well

CERT Basic training is free. The 21-hour course is conducted by FEMA-certified instructors, with classroom and hands-on training held weekday evenings and/or weekend days. Training covers:

Disaster Preparedness, Fire Suppression, Medical Aid, Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism Response, Team Organization and

Disaster Simulation (held at Central Fire #1, Live Oak)

Upcoming classes:

Watsonville Fire Station #2, 2 full Sundays in Watsonville and one full day in Live Oak. Begins Sunday, October 8th. 4 spaces left!
Highland Park Senior Center, Ben Lomond. 4 evenings and one full Sunday. Currently 14 spaces open. Begins Thursday, October 19th
NEW! Market Street Senior Center, Santa Cruz. 4 evenings and one full Saturday. Begins Tuesday, January 19th

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Be sure to sign up under the proper class tab, not the landing page.

OR use these QR codes

Watsonville - October 8th

Ben Lomond - October 19th

Santa Cruz - January 19th

Stop the Bleed

Open to CERTs and non-CERTs

Where: Central Fire 1, Live Oak

When: Saturday, November 4th

10 am - Noon

What stops bleeding? In this STOP THE BLEED course, you’ll learn three quick techniques to help save a life before someone bleeds out:

(1) Apply direct pressure

(2) Pack a wound

(3) Apply a tourniquet correctly

These three techniques will empower you to assist in an emergency and potentially save a life. Class limited to 16 participants

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Be sure to click SUBMIT

MURS Radio Basics

Join us for an in-person, hands-on class for CERTs. Perfect for those new to CERT, unfamiliar with the MURS radio, or uncertain about how to use it. The class will cover:

Advantages of the type and model
Operation and care of the radio (what all those buttons do)
Useful accessories
Optimizing your communication
Basic radio protocol
Short practice exercise

Don't have a MURS radio yet? Don't worry, we will have a few for people to try as well as ones for purchase. $60 all programed for CERT

When: Saturday, November 4th, 2-4 PM following the Stop the Bleed class

Where: Central Fire Administration Building, 930 17th, Live Oak

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Be sure to click SUBMIT

Congrats to Our Newest

CERT Basic Grads!

Yes, this class was made up mostly of elders, but what a wealth of experience! This class, by the numbers:

5 nurses
1 paramedic
2 firefighters including a Captain who was in San Francisco for the Loma Prieta Quake
1 Red Cross volunteer
1 EMT
1 midwife
3 have volunteered or organized food banks
4 people who responded to 9/11
And one person completing her Masters thesis.

Wow! Folks to be around when disaster strikes.

What to Expect From El Niño

All are invited to attend La Selva Beach CERT's meeting with NOAA's Director of Climate Prediction Center, David DeWitt, on Wednesday, 10/18 from 7 - 8:30 via Zoom. To receive a Zoom link, please email LaSelvaBeachCERT@gmail.com. Thanks for opening up your meeting Susan!

Communications Corner

Bob Fike, the CERT Auxiliary's communications lead, shared some great weather radios that you might want to look at including SAME programmable radios (Specific Area Message Encoder) at this month's Communications meeting. See the file attached.

Next month's CERT Communications meeting will be Monday, November 27th at 7 pm via Zoom. If interested in attending, please email Bob Fike for the link.

Weather Radios

Some really good links

Doreen O'Donovan, Aptos/Soquel team leader, shared these links from the CERT Auxiliary website in her recent newsletter. Good for the rest of us as well:

Well Prepared CERTs

Thirty-two well prepared CERTs joined us on Saturday, September 30th for our County-wide disaster drill. Showing off great PPE including helmets, safety vests, eye protection, masks, medical and leather gloves, long-sleeve shirts and long pants, as well as close-toed, preferably tied, shoes, these two women are the height of CERT Safety fashion.

These colorful ensembles, accessorized with MURS radios, notepads, headlamps and flashlights, topped off an already spectacular look. Well done, ladies!

Living With Wildfire: A guide for Residents of Santa Cruz County

This is an excellent resource guide put together by the Conservation District of Santa Cruz County, CalFire, Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County, the County of Santa Cruz and OR3, and the California Fire Safe Council.

Read Living with Wildfire Here

Introducing the FEMA Preparedness Guide for Older Adults

September marked the 20th annual National Preparedness Month and raises awareness of the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies.

The Ready Campaign’s 2023 National Preparedness Month theme, “Take Control in 1, 2, 3” was designed with older adults and their unique needs in mind. While it can feel overwhelming to get started, taking three essential steps—assessing needs, creating a plan, and engaging a support network—will empower older adults and provide actionable strategies to be more prepared.

Take Control in 1, 2, 3—Disaster Preparedness Guide for Older Adults was developed to support older adults and their caregivers in preparing for whatever emergencies or disasters they may face.

Our partners at Central Fire District are having an open house! If you live in Aptos, Soquel, Live Oak, Capitola, La Selva Beach, or Rio Del Mar, these are your firefighters. Come by and say hello, and drop by the CERT booth while you are there.

To wrap this all up, we are sharing a great “Inside Look” video that the Communications team at Cal OES put together about CERT using footage from the 2023 National CERT Conference. Enjoy!

This video created by Cal OES shows CERTs in Action

The CERT Auxiliary of Santa Cruz County offers free CERT and Disaster Preparation classes. We are dependent on grants and donations to keep the program running. Please consider a gift to help us fund these classes. We thank you in advance.