Updates | West Orange County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team for Western Orange County California)

COVID-19 Online Training Materials

CSTI Announces Online COVID-19 Awareness Classes – FREE

To help you, your employees and their families better understand this novel coronavirus, CSTI has posted a series of brief awareness-level classes on our Learning Management System. Learning more about this threat helps us all prepare our communities to survive it.

Available titles include:

Coronavirus: COVID-19
Coronavirus: Precautions and Prevention: Common Sense Hygiene
Coronavirus: Precautions and Prevention: Coronavirus Preparedness
Coronavirus: Precautions and Prevention: Stay Calm, Stay Informed
Coronavirus: Precautions and Prevention: Travel Safely

To create an account in the CSTI LMS:

1. Visit CSTI.ORG or https://csti-ca.csod.com/. Click the green register button on the center of the screen.
2. Follow the on screen instructions to set up your account.

To login to the LMS:

1. Visit CSTI.ORG
2. Click the purple Login button center of the screen. On the Login Page enter the e-mail and password you used to register.

To locate the Materials Based courses within the CSTI LMS:

1. Use the LMS home menu to navigate to MENU > CSTI Courses > Browse for Training

2. Select the small document icon to filter Online Based Courses.

3. Select the Online Based Training you wish to take.

4. Select Launch

5. A new blank window will open, you will be able to “click here” to continue if the training does not start automatically. (Your browser may show a slightly different view). Once opened, proceed with the training. Watch the video and complete the exam.

6. √ Check, your course is complete. The course can now be found in your transcripts under “completed”. Return to “Browse for Training” for more Coronavirus Precautions and Prevention Online Training.

COVID-19 Update

Orange County and State have made available a number of resources to keep us and the public updated on both best practices and current statistics related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We will be adding resources to this page as they become available.

Stay Safe. Stay Home.

Update: Face Coverings & Masks

Both the CDC and State of California have said that face coverings can help slow the spread of COVID-19

Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly said face coverings can supplement but not replace such behaviors such as staying at home, maintaining physical distance and hand washing. State health officials have expressed concern the masks could lull people into a false sense of security and cause them to avoid more critical distancing behaviors. They also remain worried that residents may try to obtain N95 or surgical masks as hospitals struggle to find enough for their workers.

Newsom has repeated:

We have been very clear that if you are going into an environment where physical distancing is all but impossible — for example, into a grocery store with small aisles and a long queue — that we do believe it would be additive and beneficial to have a face cover”

A significant portion of individuals with Coronavirus lack symptoms (they are “asymptomatic”). Even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms.

This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity—for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing—even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.

Therefore, CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where social distancing is not feasible.

Face Coverings

Face Coverings are loose-fitting, disposable devices and can be home-made. Face coverings should be used in public settings where social distancing is not feasible.

N-95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators

A standard (non-surgical) N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirator (FFR) will filter out at least 95% of very small (0.3 micron) airborne particles, including bacteria and viruses. (N means that the mask is not oil resistant). Photo below.

N95 Respirators are for first responders and health care providers who are caring for or contacting actual or suspected COVID-19 patients.

Additionally, the CDC has a page dedicated to question about PPE or Personal Protective Equipment

March CERT Basic Academy Postponed

Coronavirus Postpones March 2020 CERT Basic Academy — **Coronavirus Outbreak Postpones March 2020 CERT Basic Academy**

The Cities of Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, and Westminster had scheduled a 20-hour Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training academy at JFTB-Los Alamitos on March 20-28, 2020. Out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing this academy to a future date, which is to be determined.

The CDC recommends that older adults and other high risk individuals “limit close contact” and “avoid crowds as much as possible” during the COVID-19 outbreak. By postponing this non-essential gathering, we can reduce the risk to CERT participants and allow cities and emergency agencies to focus on their primary response missions.

We sincerely thank the Joint Forces Training Base, along with all who had expressed interest in this course. We could not conduct this high quality training academy and exercise without the help of our sponsoring cities, response agencies, instructors, and the volunteer members and leaders of our CERT Team.

You can read the full notice from the Team Coordinators here.

We do not yet have new Academy dates but will keep you advised here and via emails to our members.

Additionally, the Seal Beach Run on 3/28, the City of Anaheim Police & Fire Departments event on 4/2, and the Westminster Spring Festival on 4/4 have also been canceled.

WOC CERT February Team Training & Pot Luck

West Orange County CERT - February Team Training & Potluck — **Los Alamitos Captain O’Connell welcomes the CERT Team**

Our February Team Training & Potluck was full of fun and fellowship. Hosted in Los Alamitos at the Community Center, we were treated to some very tasty Pot Luck dishes ranging from home baked ham and onion rings to a number of salad offerings, fried chicken, and bite sized sandwiches and of course the more traditional pizza and the usual slew of tempting dessert offerings.

More than forty Team members that attended our meeting where we were welcomed to the City by Los Al PD Captain O’Connell and Emergency Services Coordinator Robert Acosta. It was great having such a good turn out for our first meeting of the year.

Our training presentation from SCART (SoCal Animal Recuse Team) was both interesting and thorough. Our thanks to Susan Keyes and the other presenters for educating us on our personal animal preparedness and how to assist in caring for pets in a disaster. If you want to be ready to assist with pet care following a disaster, feel free to reach out to SCART for training dates and additional information. And a huge thank you to Robin for arranging the presentation.

The rest of our event was all about the upcoming CERT Basic Academy and finalizing the class leaders, the Team members who will assist with the medical exercises and of course who will gt to wear the “red hats” during the final exercise. Our next Academy is at the end of March, so we have jsut a few weeks to get things set.

Our Academy events are a full team effort to get 50-60 area residents exposed to basic disaster preparedness for themselves and their family members. When we have the next major disaster event in Southern California it will be 3-5 days before our first responders will be able to get to our homes to assist. During those times, we will be on our own. Our family members. Our immediate neighbors. Our block. Are you prepared for that? What if you are at work when this disaster occurs? Will your family be able to care for themselves if you can get back home for days? These questions are at the core of the FEMA based CERT Basic Training. If you need a refresher or are just stopping by for a bit more information, click the red button at the top of this page to find out when our next CERT Basic Academy is.

Our next Team Training & Potluck will be on Wednesday April 8th at the Seal Beach Police Department.

West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
Los Alamitos Captain O'Connell welcomes the CERT members to the February Training & Potluck hosted by Los Alamitos
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020
West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020

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West Orange County CERT - Team Training & Potluck - February 2020

2020 Westminster TET Parade – Color and Fun

**Comms Team for the 2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon**

The early morning was cold and foggy as amateur radio volunteers from across the county checked in for duty, arriving by 6:30, with some arriving by 6:00 – and you know who you are! There were members from West County CERT, SORA, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo RACES and OCHEART there to support Westminster RACES and provide “eyes and ears” and radio communications throughout the half mile 2020 TET Parade route in Westminster.

Mickey Mouse served as the Children’s Grand Marshall and lead the parade ushering the Lunar New Year, Year of the Rat. The parade route ran along Tran Hung Dao Blvd. (Bolsa Avenue) from Magnolia east to Bushard before turning south and ending at Bishop Place. The celebration takes place in the Little Saigon area of Westminster which has the largest concentration of Vietnamese living outside of Vietnam.

The event itself went very well and was well attended with an estimated 10,000 spectators joining in the festivities. There were more than 80 parade entries ranging from political candidates and city council members to marching bands and floats. Of course, there were plenty of Dragons and firecrackers to celebrate and ring in the New Year.

Westminster RACES Lead, Chi Nguyen, was able to get some good photos of the radio communications teams as they were deployed. Thanks to Hermie, Karla, Art, and Barbara for representing West County CERT at the event.

2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon
2020 Westminster TET Parade in Little Saigon

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You can watch the full TET Parade below:

The City of Westminster appreciates the assistance of all the volunteers who helped to make the parade possible. West County CERT looks forward to being there again in 2021.

Fire Safety: The CERT Member’s Role

As in all CERT operations, the CERT members safety is always the number one priority.

Safety measures presented in the video include use of protective gear and the proper equipment to extinguish small fires, working with a buddy and a team, planning for safe entry and exit, maintaining a safe distance and position from a fire and using the P.A.S.S. procedure to operate fire extinguishers.

2019 in Review

We had a great December Team event and the food was outstanding. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend.

2019 was a terrific year for West Orange County CERT. As a Team:

Participated in 38 different events
We logged more than 2,500 hours on behalf of our communities
We had 50 members put in 20 or more hours (up a dozen from 2018) and 20 of those members put in more than 40 hours
Showed more than 50 community members how they and their families can become more “ready” for disaster
Held 5 Neighbor 4 Neighbor^® events and logged almost 150 hours in the process

And that does not include the hundreds of hours the Team has invested in both online and in person training and development.

It’s an incredible investment benefiting both our Team and the communities that we serve.

Thanks to each and everyone of you who participated in some way during 2019. It could have been at an event, taking a course, helping at the Academy or some other behind the scenes effort. We could not have done it without you. THANK YOU!!

And we are looking forward to an even better 2020. Make sure to stay connected and join us in helping our communities become more prepared and safer.

Here’s a recap of the year that was 2019

July 2019 CERT Academy – Week 1 – What an Amazing Group

We kicked off our 2019 CERT Academy* with an amazing group of community members and leaders. This is a great class representing all six cities who sponsor our program and a half dozen surrounding communities.

Our first weekend we covered disaster psychology, fire safety, utility control for your home, search and light rescue, and disaster triage and first aid. Quite a lot of terrific information. And thanks to the City of Westminster, we had a delicious Italian meal for Saturday lunch.

As special thanks to all of our instructors and to Dr. Heather Williams for coming out to talk with our class about disaster psychology and the emotional effects of disaster for everyone including responders.

Here’s a quick summary video of weekend 1

CERT Academy is for you too!

If you want to find out more about how you too can prepare your family for the next disaster that strikes your neighborhood or Southern California, please sign up here and we will send you an invitation to our next class.

* The West Orange County CERT Academy covers the basic FEMA CERT 20 hour training course and includes a full exercise following our graduation ceremonies on the second Saturday.