Disaster Preparedness

Yesterday I completed a weekend long training for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). I had been a CERT member when I was still in Massachusetts, and was excited to find out that there is a CERT program in Lubbock.

Yesterday we had to do a disaster simulation drill. It was one thing to learn about dealing with disasters in our modules; it was another thing all together doing the drill.

I was one of 2 people chosen to be a team leader, and believe me, neither one of us knew what we were doing - at least the first time around. The second time may have been a bit easier, however, we will need to get more disaster drills under our belt to feel more comfortable before we actually get deployed.

By the way, Channel 11 News was there to cover the disaster drill, and here is the story and news video.

And yes, I am in the video - all 2 or 3 seconds of me. And you have to know where to look to find me because my back is towards the camera as I am going into the building to do a search and rescue.

Just look for the 2 braids sticking out of the back of the helmet a little more than halfway into the video.

(Also look for the little red dog collar attached to the right of my green CERT backpack. The collar is there to distinguish my pack from all the other identical green backpacks. LOL)

I am really excited to be a member of CERT. And I am looking forward to the next training classes coming up in September. I will also be training to be a CERT instructor. And who knows, when I'm a CERT instructor, I'll get this really cool and classy Homeland Security shirt. LOL