Coronado Common Sense

Coronado Woman Becomes Newest HAM

 

 

Brand-new HAM Operator Joan Swartz with CERO President Fred Brown and VEC (Volunteer Examiner Coordinator) Jay Doucet. Photo by VE Dave Schutz.

 

Joan Swartz was all smiles after passing her General Class License exam for becoming a HAM radio operator on Wednesday, May 16th. The test was administered by Dr. Jay Doucet and Joan passed it with flying colors! She will be shortly talking to amateur radio operators all over the world. Joan learned the material through self-study, beginning in December.

 

There were also two additional candidates that night, both successfully passing their Technician Class license exam. Congratulations to you all!

Coronado CERT Members Joined County Teams To Practice Earthquake Response

 

This past Saturday, more than 100 members from at least 20 Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) based throughout the County participated in an annual disaster drill for these trained neighborhood volunteers.

Coronado CERT members Gary Smith, Susan Heavilin, Michelle Junet and Victoria Elliott were there. Coronado Fire Captain Darren Hall was the instructor for the drill.

“In disasters, community members may need to help each other before emergency responders arrive,” said County Supervisor Dianne Jacob. “Our County’s CERT volunteers are great neighbors who have taken it upon themselves to get special training and practice so they’ll be ready to protect themselves, their families and their neighbors in an emergency.”

This year’s Countywide CERT exercise was run at Mountain Empire High School in Pine Valley and simulated a community response to a strong earthquake. CERT members practiced responding to “victims” portrayed by Pine Valley community members, including students from the high school.

As part of their training, CERT members work with first responders to learn basic disaster preparedness and response skills, including how to suppress small fires, assess the medical condition of a victim, administer basic first aid, conduct light search and rescue, and quickly organize an effective volunteer emergency response team.

 

 

Source: Some information used in this article was from the San Diego County News Center

Amateur Radio Exam Session Scheduled For This Wednesday In Coronado

 

A Common Sense reader sent in the following information:

 

Sponsor: Coronado Emergency Radio Operators (CERO)
Date: Wednesday 16 May 2012 
Time: 6:00 PM (Walk-ins allowed) 
Contact: Jay Doucet
Email: w6sh@arrl.net
VEC: ARRL/VEC
Location: Coronado Emergency Operations Center Coronado Police Station | 700 Orange Ave | Coronado

Hundreds Take Part In Three-Day Wildfire Drill

Stopping a large wildfire takes the coordination—and exertion—of hundreds of firefighters.

 

In a three-day drill on the Barona Indian Reservation that started Thursday and goes through Saturday, some 300 firefighters and regional responders are working hard in a detailed simulation—sans flames—to prepare for wildfires that may come with the hotter, drier months ahead.

Volunteers trained by the County Fire Authority, including new firefighters who have never faced a real wildfire, are among the crews taking part. County engines and water tenders, as well as a Geographic Information System (GIS) analyst from the County Fire authority will also use the drill to practice.

“It’s a chance for all the agencies that would respond on an incident to come together under the unified command structure,” said Mike Mohler, Cal Fire spokesman.

The drill has firefighters laying hose lines as if flames were running up a hillside. Water-dropping helicopters attack the “blaze.” Firefighters are cutting fire lines and removing vegetation to prevent the imagined fire’s spread.

Matt Turner, GIS analyst with the Fire Authority, is supporting the drill as he would a real fire. He uses GIS technology to make detailed, layered maps full that help an incident commander plan and measure the firefight’s progress. The boundaries and burning areas of a fire, topographical features, the location of firefighting divisions, weather conditions and streets and residences are all part of Turner’s rich maps.

The analyst operates out of the County’s GIS trailer, which is typically called out to support firefighters and incident managers in the early stages of a blaze.

This week’s drill is a change to test the equipment and practice coordination in advance of a real wildfire, Turner said.

“We’ll be getting up to speed and getting ready,” he said.

Source: San Diego County News Center

Don't Be In The Dark . . . Get Prepared

 

A federal report released Tuesday probing the causes of the power outage that left San Diego County in the dark last September concludes that a lack of planning and poor communication by grid operators led to cascading outages.

The report—the culmination of a probe by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Reliability Corporation—issues recommendations to utilities and power operators on improvements they should make to prevent similar massive outages in the future.

 

With the blackout in the news again, it’s a good time for residents to consider whether they’ve made any emergency preparations since last September, when many found themselves in the dark, cut off from the world and resolving to get some batteries, flashlights and an AM radio.

 

Read San Diego County News Center's "Report: Power Operators Weren't Prepared. Residents, Make Sure You Are" for the rest of the story.

Coronado Emergency Siren Test This Morning At 10:30

 

Don't panic when you hear the emergency sirens sound off at 10:30 this morning. It's just a test. If you don't hear anything at your house, you should let the Coronado Fire Department know. In a real emergency, this would be your clue to tune in to radio station AM 600 (KOGO) to find out what the emergency is and what steps you need to follow.

 

From the City of Coronado:

 

"All three sirens -- located at the Village Fire Station, Glorietta Bay Park and the Coronado Cays Fire Station -- will be activated at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, April 20, to ensure they are in top working order.  The City of Cornado installed the system in 2002 to alert the community in the event of an emergency.

 

The warning sirens are designed to be heard from all locations within the  City of Coronado. Once activated, those in Coronado can expect the sirens to sound from one to three minutes. In the event of an actual emergency, Fire officials ask the community to remain calm and tune the radio to AM 600 (KOGO) to receive specific instructions."

 

Remember, it's just a test . . . this time.

Are You Prepared For An Emergency Disaster? Step Three

 

In any emergency a family member or you yourself may suffer an injury. If you have these basic first aid supplies you are better prepared to help your loved ones when they are hurt.

Knowing how to treat minor injuries can make a difference in an emergency. You may consider taking a first aid class, but simply having the following things can help you stop bleeding, prevent infection and assist in decontamination.

• Two pairs of Latex or other sterile gloves if you are allergic to Latex
• Sterile dressings to stop bleeding
• Cleansing agent/soap and antibiotic towelettes
• Antibiotic ointment
• Burn ointment
• Adhesive bandages in a variety of sizes
• Eye wash solution to flush the eyes or as general decontaminant
• Thermometer
• Prescription medications you take every day such as insulin, heart medicine and asthma inhalers. You should periodically rotate medicines to account for expiration dates.
• Prescribed medical supplies such as glucose and blood pressure monitoring equipment and supplies

 

Non-prescription drugs:

• Aspirin or non-aspirin pain reliever
• Anti-diarrhea medication
• Antacid
• Laxative

 

Other first aid supplies:

• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Tube of petroleum jelly or other lubricant

 

Source: FEMA | Ready.gov

Are You Prepared For An Emergency Disaster? Step Two

 

Once you have gathered the supplies for a basic emergency kit, you may want to consider adding the following items:

• Prescription medications and glasses
• Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food and extra water for your pet
• Cash or traveler's checks and change
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container. You can use the Emergency Financial First Aid Kit (EFFAK) (PDF - 977Kb) developed by Operation Hope, FEMA and Citizen Corps to help you organize your information.
• Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or free information from this web site. (See Publications)
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted, nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
• Fire extinguisher
• Matches in a waterproof container
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
• Mess kits, paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

 

 

Source: FEMA | Ready.gov

Are You Prepared For An Emergency Disaster? Step One

 

The Coronado Cays Homeowner's Association Safety Committee presented an Emergency Preparedness Seminar this past Saturday. The purpose of the seminar was to make residents of the Cays aware of potential disasters and how to prepare themselves and their families in the event of a major disaster. It was excellent!

That put preparedness back on the front burner for me. It's always somewhere on that stovetop but the seminar was a good reminder. Those late night emergency alerts on television probably play a part, too. They used to be broadcast once or twice a week but recently have been nearly every night. And then there's the recent news that the problems with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Plant causing its shutdown will most likely result in several blackouts in the summer months. That's closer than we think.

 

During the last blackout in September 2011, water issues were also paramount in several communities that were located far from pumping stations. Residents of Fallbrook, Ramona, Valley Center and Coronado were being urged to conserve water in whatever ways possible.

So, if you're not already prepared, now might be a good time to do so.

 

FEMA teaches that a basic emergency supply kit could include the following recommended items:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust mask to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Manual can opener for food
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger

 

Your assignment, if you want to begin preparing, is to find a good size plastic container. Next place the items you have around your home in the box, using the list above. Indicate, with a checkmark, the items that you'll need to pick up at the store at your earliest convenience.

 

Putting it in a container means that you'll know where it is when you need it and it'll all be there together. It's a bear trying to find things in the dark and scattered all over the house when you really need them.

 

Tune in tomorrow to see the list of additional items you might want to consider having on hand.

Emergency Preparedness Seminar On April 14th For Cays Residents

 

The Coronado Cays Homeowner's Assoc. Safety Committee is presenting an Emergency Preparedness Seminar on April 14th, 2012 from 9:00am-11:00am in the Grand Caribe Room, 505 Grand Caribe Isle.

The purpose of the Seminar is to make residents of the Cays aware of potential disasters and how to prepare themselves and families in the event of a major disaster in the Cays.

Speakers will be: Chief Perry Peake, Coronado Fire Department; Ana Ortiz, American Red Cross and Susan Heavilin, CERT.  As well, Fred Brown, President of CERO and the Cays Radio Officer will be speaking about the communications system that has been established to keep us all informed during an emergency.

At the end of the seminar, a drawing will be held for two 72-hour survival kits.  Coffee and pastries will be served.

Please RSVP to Michelle Junet, (619) 429-9601 or michellejunet@att.net.

This might be the meeting that will save your life and that of your loved ones!!

Submitted by Michelle Junet