The neighborhood emergency response handbook : your life-saving plan for personal and community preparedness

Practical, step-by-step strategies for helping your own family, first responders and vulnerable community members during any emergency situation. Eventually, everyone experiences a catastrophic emergency. Whether it’s a hurricane that sweeps across their entire state, an earthquake or flood that decimates their home city or a house fire that puts their family in danger. Knowing what to do before, during and immediately after these emergency situations can mean the difference between life and death. All across the country people of all walks of life are signing up for Community Emergency Response Team training classes where they learn how to help those in dire need and assist overwhelmed first responders in saving lives and preventing further disaster. This book teaches you what those CERT team members learn—from stabilizing a car crash victim for ambulance transport and rescuing trapped citizens from a fallen building to putting out a house fire before the fire trucks even arrive. Learn about: • Creating event-specific disaster kits for yourself and your family • Learning about basic fire safety and fire fighting • Establishing triage centers in the event that first responders can’t reach you • Stabilizing disaster victims through need-to-know first aid • Creating your own neighborhood emergency response team to keep your neighborhood safe and save lives should the worst occur CONTENTS 5 INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER 1: WHEN DISASTER STRIKES 10 Incident Priorities 10 Accountability 11 Disasters at Home 12 Summary 24 CHAPTER 2: BASIC DISASTER PROCEDURES 26 Creating a Disaster Kit 26 Floods 28 Storms 29 Blizzards 30 Earthquakes 32 Tornados 33 Civil Unrest 34 Summary 35 CHAPTER 3: FIRE 37 The Science of FIre 37 Classes of Fire 38 Size-Up Considerations 39 What to Do 40 Portable Fire Extinguishers 40 Fire Suppression Safety Rules 41 Hazardous Materials 42 Fire Prevention in the Home 43 Summary 45 CHAPTER 4: LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE 46 Size-Up 47 Search 49 Rescue 56 Summary 63 CHAPTER 5: DISASTER MEDICAL OPTIONS 64 Medical Size-Up 65 Triage 66 Sanitation 71 Supplies 72 Documentation 74 Working with Emergency Responders 76 Summary 77 CHAPTER 6: DISASTER FIRST AID 78 ABCs 79 The Golden Hour 81 Neck and Back Injuries 81 Broken Bones 82 Strains and Sprains 84 Bleeding Control 84 Burns 87 Medical Emergencies 89 Summary 91 CHAPTER 7: DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY 93 Preparing the Mind to Act 94 Response of the Body and Mind to Disaster 95 Effects of Traumatic Stress 96 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 96 Critical Incident Stress Management 98 Summary 100 CHAPTER 8: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS NETWORKS 102 Getting Started 103 Organize a Group of Like-Minded Individuals 105 Construct a Community Disaster Response Team 105 The First Meeting 106 Subsequent Meetings 107 Identifying Neighborhood Skills and Resources 108 Command Structure, Job Positions, and Duties 110 Mobilization and Working within the Incident Management System 111 Community Emergency Response Teams 113 Summary 114 CONCLUSION 115 QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE 117 PHOTO CREDITS 124 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 125 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 126 A COMPLETE, STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO PREPARING YOURSELF AND YOUR COMMUNITY TO AID FIRST RESPONDERS DURING A DISASTER SITUATION Nothing brings out the best in neighbors more than facing a catastrophe together. But don’t wait till the disaster is upon you. This book shows how you can work together today to protect the lives and homes of all the families in your neighborhood tomorrow. With guidance on how you can take a leadership role, this helpful handbook details everything your community needs to be fully prepared for any natural disaster. • Creating event-specific disaster kits for yourself and your family • Learning about basic fire safety and fire fighting • Establishing triage centers in the event that first responders can’t reach you • Stabilizing disaster victims through need-to-know first aid • Creating your own neighborhood emergency response team to keep your neighborhood safe and save lives should the worst occur