When the subject of triage comes up within the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) scenario, it is clear that we are dealing with a situation where not only are you outnumbered victims to rescuers, but resources are limited and time is of the utmost.
As you steer through that always-dangerous curve headed to work that morning, you are the only witness to a traffic collision.
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People came here to rural Mendocino County to get away from the rest of the world. While privacy is one thing, it is essential not to isolate and remove oneself from the map entirely. If a medical emergency were to occur, could first responders find your home?
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For anyone living in earthquake country, the concept of “The Big One” is very real. Here on the North Coast, the San Andreas Fault lurks just offshore a few miles. While it has been a long time since the last time it moved with significance, we only need to look back 105 years to see what can happen when it does. But “big” can be widely interpreted. Is 7.0 big? What about 8.0? Come to think of it, how do they measure earthquakes?
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For most people in this country, fire extinguishers are a visible presence in everyday life. Yet most people have never used one, let alone comprehend the details of what type of extinguisher they might need for home or general office use. In reality the choice of a fire extinguisher is almost as simple as A-B-C. Most fire extinguishers available at local hardware stores as well as the big box chain stores are suitable for home or office use, that is, they provide the type of chemical suppressant required for a variety of fire scenarios. While many are small one-time-use models, there are refillable “professional grade” extinguishers available that are not much more expensive than the single-use type.
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The key to disaster/emergency preparedness is based on making it through the initial recommended timeframe of 72 hours…a mere three days. If you have enough food and water to get through that period, you’re already ahead of the game. But is that enough? Statistics show that when a regional emergency occurs (such as an earthquake, winter storm, hurricane, etc.), the first 72 hours are the most difficult. Why? For one reason, the supply chain from inland sources is easily interrupted by a disaster, leaving local folks in more remote areas with a delayed source of food and other supplies to sustain their household for three full days. You’ve likely seen images of how quickly store shelves can empty when storm …
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