Summer time

Welcome summer, thanks for that heat wave. A week of excessive heat warnings is not the way I like to celebrate summer, but I guess that's just part of life in the midwest.

Lately I've been doing some work for National Preparedness Month (which is September) 2009. Johnson County Emergency Management & Homeland Security is participating in this preparedness campaign for the sixth time this year.

National Preparedness Month is organized by ready.gov. They encourage families to be prepared by getting a kit, making a plan and being informed. Johnson County residents are encouraged to do the same on the Johnson County Emergency Management website. Follow the links to learn more about preparedness measures you can take and about National Preparedness Month.

Funding

Lately I've been working on raising funds for Johnson County CERT teams. These are great county programs that promote both individual preparedness and widespread disaster response. With the economy being what it is, funding for these programs is dwindling.

The training and the backpacks full of equipment are provided for volunteers. Without enough monetary support, these Johnson County preparedness programs will cease to exist. If you have suggestions or want to help support CERT, please let me know! Thanks.

Disaster Simulation

The disaster simulation this last weekend for CERT training was crazy. There were multiple explosions, very realistic looking wounds, and there was a vehicle on fire. Most beneficially, the team had a long run-down after we had identified the hazards and moved all 30 "victims" to the medical treatment area.

Now I get to take all this knowledge with me in order to do my job promoting CERT and hopefully to help people when their worlds are turned upside down.

Fire and Medical

This past Friday and Saturday were my first 2 days of CERT training. We learned about different types of weather hazards, chemicals, fire safety, injuries and treatments, and triage. As part of it I used a fire extinguisher for the first time. We got to practice putting out real fires with some of the members of the Olathe Fire Department. But then I went home and checked the expiration date on my family's extinguishers...lets just say that if we had a fire at home in the last decade or so, we would not have had a working extinguisher. A trip to Lowe's solved that problem.

This coming weekend we are learning search and rescue techniques and some more medical information. Then we are running a practice drill complete with volunteer victims with realistic-looking injuries.

The stuff I'm learning will not only benefit our local community following a disaster, but it gives me more knowledge about how I can help my own family. Especially if I have children someday, now I know lots more about injuries and treatments than I did before. This training is so beneficial.