TrainingSan Antonio emergency teams train for worst scenarios

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) in San Antonio, the sixth largest city in the United States, are worried that the large population and size of the metropolis could pose a major problem in an emergency situation.

As the Daily Times reports, , individuals such as Alamo Area Regional Citizen Corps coordinator Scott Paul are concerned with the logistical issues presented by just how big the city is.

“You have 2.7 million people in San Antonio. Where would those people go?” he said. “Most of them would come right up I-10 to Kerr County and the surrounding area. Do you all have the resources to take care of them? No.”

The area is already at risk of tornadoes and fires, but teams have recently completed training for a wide variety of imaginable scenarios, according to Steph Lehman of the Hill County Preppers, an emergency response organization which works and trains with other CERT teams, in part with the Sheriff’s Office in Kerr county.

“You need to be prepared for any scenario,” he said. “The same basic training applies to many situations.”

In training, participants learn plans and functions for traffic direction, logistical assistance, and search and rescue. Some CERT members have graduated the Kerr County Sheriff’s Academy Class, while others are retired and simply want to help.

Volunteers were issued a “basic rescue bag” which included a helmet, gloves, vest, duct tapes, ponchos, and other simple emergency items, paid for by anonymous donors to the program.

“Low tech beats high tech any day,” said Lehman. “In a disaster, life’s going to get really simple really quickly when the power grid goes down.”

Lehman urged awareness, as well, drawing from disaster experiences faced by the country in the earlier 2000’s, such as the 9/11 terror attacks and the devastation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

“Do you have enough food and water to survive before the authorities can help?” he asked. “Is three days’ supply sufficient? No. You need enough for ninety days, based on what we learned from Hurricane Katrina and some other recent disasters.”

Volunteers also practiced a wide range of disaster scenarios, included simulated F1 tornado drills near Wal-Mart Supercenters and mock searches for missing children. They were also taught how to secure the scene in certain situations, which included using portable switch and fuse boxes and building investigations.

“You can’t just run into a building,” said Paul. “You have to make sure electricity is turned off at the switch and the gas mains are cut off, otherwise you may wind up dead.”

More importantly, CERT members were taught ways to fight normalcy bias, or the inability to gauge emerging disasters as they unfold on the scene, such as expecting more twisters in an area that has already been recently struck.

Paul reported being pleased with the result of the recent training sessions.

“[They] aren’t the best team we’ve had, but not the worst,” he added. “No one was yelling at each other or fighting.”