San Francisco Fire Dept. NERT Guidelines
Kerry Bludworth, Lt. retired, from the Orlando Fire Department, saw the applicability of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept for areas susceptible to hurricanes. The Orlando Fire Department invited firefighters from Los Angeles City to Orlando to teach them the concept. Following this, Kerry and his fellow firefighters from Orlando develop hurricane specific units to complement the response portions of CERT.
The San Francisco Fire Department's Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) program is an outstanding example of preparing civilians to respond to disasters. I asked Lt. Frank Lucier, NERT's Program Coordinator, to share San Francisco's drill guidelines and the tabletop exercise with you. These are from the NERT's Program Coordinators Guidelines. Use them as a resource when developing refresher training for your teams.
Additionally, visit the NERT website through our link. Finally, view the Emergency Management Institute's Emergency Education Network (EENET) broadcast of October 10, 1996, called "Training Civilians for Disaster Response." This video features Frank and others sharing information about their civilian training programs. It is available through your State Emergency Management Agencies and Offices for Emergency Management.
Neighborhood Emergency Response Team - Drill Guidelines