After seven weeks, 21 hours of emergency preparedness training and a final, including a mock disaster situation, 13 volunteers graduated from the city’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) course.
Typically hosted at City Hall by Emergency Services Coordinator Brad Davis, this round of certifications traveled down Pacific Coast Highway to Paradise Cove.
“This was an example of us taking the CERT classes out on the road,” Davis said. “We do come to your own communities and teach the class for your own community. In the past, we have done them at Malibu West, at Heathercliff Road at the mobile home community there. We want as many people in the community as possible to be as prepared as possible for when the bad thing happens.”
Last Thursday, Dec. 3, CERT class volunteers tested their knowledge on paper with a lengthy final, including questions like, “Which of the following is not a hazard associated with home fixtures?” and “When a disaster occurs, what is a CERT member’s first responsibility?”
Following the paper final, CERT members were tested on their knowledge of a disaster situation when the training room was transformed into an earthquake scenario with tables flipped, papers strewn about and fixtures hanging from the ceiling. Teams were formed into medical assistance, search and rescue, victims and an incident commander.
Rescuers searched the faux earthquake scene swiftly with guidance from Davis and his troop of volunteer assistants for the evening, including members of Malibu CERT and Los Angeles County Fire Department’s (LACoFD) Station 88 firefighter Robert Sales.
“It’s very important for us to be able to add as many people as we can for that disaster scenario and having many people helping this community in that kind of scenario is going to be huge because our resources are going to be completely overwhelmed,” Sales said. “There’s no way we can be prepared enough … It’s something that’s important.”
After the disaster scenario was played and teams tried serving different functions in the emergency situation, Davis called it an evening.
“This wasn’t a pass or fail,” Davis said. “This wasn’t a show of excellence to demonstrate how awesome you are as a rescuer. What it was is to show you how complicated all of this is when you actually have to put all of this together. That was the purpose of this exercise … to show you how complex it is and why it’s so important that you keep on doing the training and you keep on reviewing this stuff so that you remember and it actually becomes muscle memory.”
Volunteers were enthusiastic about the training course.
One community member explained how “the classes helped with my anxiety and I felt more prepared about a lot of things that I never thought I would … To feel like I was capable of doing things that weren’t even on my register.”
“I think Brad’s done such a great job,” Tracy Weirick said. “It’s definitely the knowledge and the confidence in order to be prepared for anything, for any emergency that’s going to come. I especially enjoyed the hands-on experience, too.”
Developed in 1985 by the LACoFD in effort to provide basic training in lifesaving techniques to the public, the program was later adopted by the National Fire Academy and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“The city is very lucky to have the support of the council and the city management to enable the CERT program to go forward,” Davis said. “Not every city takes it upon themselves to deliver the training.”
Davis also noted that since the program began in Malibu, more than 800 community volunteers have attended classes for emergency disaster response skills.
“One of the biggest things that comes up in the CERT program is your change of confidence level,” Davis said. “There was a time when you wouldn’t dream of stepping up and doing anything like this. We don’t have that now. We understand now how to stop and think, and be safe and step up and do these things.”
The next round of CERT training begins in February with three-hour classes scheduled on Saturdays. Visit the City of Malibu’s website for more information.
“More than anything, keep on with your training,” Davis said. “Keep taking first aid classes. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is that you continue your hands-on skills. Don’t miss those opportunities. I encourage you to keep your knowledge going.”