CERT's first test was through the fire(s)

In August 2005 when Fallbrook’s first North County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class graduated, no one could have predicted the dramatic impact they would have on the community, nor how soon.

Within two years, the tenacity of organizer James Beebe of North County Fire Protection District (NCFPD) and business owner Mike Crain, now North County CERT planning chief and board president, pushed that fledgling group to include 260 trained volunteers who put their lives on hold to help neighbors in need during the Rice Canyon Fire.

“When we were asked to show up, our on-call system was dispatched immediately, and within five minutes 75 people responded,” says Crain.

That wasn’t their first important call to action, though. “We helped run a shelter where we fed 1,100 people three times a day during the Cedar Fire,” Crain says.

It began as a respite for firefighters and other emergency service providers, where they could eat and rest, but later grew to include National Guard, FEMA and county Office of Emergency Services (OES) representatives and fire victims from Alpine, Descanso and Julian.

It was that experience that taught the North County CERT organizers and members what working the front line of a disaster meant.

Their principal role during the Rice Fire was distribution of supplies, which they prudently managed on an as-needed basis. Once the governor issues a disaster declaration, it means anyone who asks for supplies can have them, Crain explains.

Countywide there were reports of aid given to people not involved in the fire at all. However, Fallbrook’s North County CERT members knew the geography of the fire’s involvement and many of the fire victims. As a result, Crain says they knew who needed the help and who didn’t.

Later they set up methods to determine needs, categorizing the differences between home owners and renters, business owners and farmers, people who lost vehicles, insured and uninsured.

For example, Crain says, the list of homes lost was inaccurate, so they worked with the Red Cross Disaster Action Team to correct it. Ultimately they made a list of each fire victim. He says this tactic helped reduce confusion and expedited assistance.

Then, as the immediate emergency responders began to leave town, North County CERT members stayed on the job, providing cleanup materials to homeowners and helping them sift through debris and ash.

From the moment they were on the scene, North County CERT began building relationships with the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, the Legacy Foundation, the Fallbrook Ministerial Association, the Red Cross, Region 9 of FEMA, the state OES and the office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In addition, they formed affiliations with California Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), a state organization that helps coordinate efforts when a disaster strikes, and San Diego 2-1-1, the national dialing code for information about community, health and disaster services which is now available in San Diego County.

North County CERT became a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation with NCFPD as its host agency in August 2007, with Beebe as its NCFPD coordinator/liaison.

For more information about North County CERT and how to become a member, call Mike Crain at (760) 803-6550 or log on to http://www.northcountycert.com.