On Saturday, June 8, 20 community members completed the Late Spring iteration of the Basic Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. The three-day course included classroom training and practical exercises, and culminated in a full mass-casualty exercise.
One week prior, the students participated in a triage exercise, coming face to face with AAACERT members simulating injuries after a storm hit a classroom. They quickly learned the value of the simulation, as they had to deal with patients who had been instructed by evaluators to be uncooperative.
In the June 8 exercise, the students were met with an entire compound full of simulated injuries; the victims in this drill were wearing moulage, courtesy of Kim Reyes, to make the simulation feel lifelike. Simulating victims of a tornado, AAACERT members playing the role of victims were again displaying uncooperative, anxious behavior and doing their best to make it an authentic experience. The students successfully assessed the situation, evaluating and treating the victims, as well as handling unexpected scenarios the team staged.
Note: Some photos here are graphic and contain realistic (but simulated) injuries.
Mary, one of the victims, shows off her minor cuts and abrasions before the exercise. 
Mark suffered from an injury to the back of the head. 
The team develops its plan and heads out to survey the area. 
The team set up its treatment area, ready to sort the victims based on the severity of their injuries. 
After completing their initial triage, a team heads out to treat and evacuate the wounded. 
A team escorts a victim to the treatment area. 
The victim waits in the treatment area; although the wounds are severe, he is stable and does not take priority. 
A team enters a building to search for more victims. 
Team Leads stand outside a building, communicating the situation to the Incident Commander, as their team evacuates victims from the building. 
A team provides first aid to victims before getting them to the pre-staged treatment area. 
Partners assess a child on a wire. Note: Never get this close to downed wires! 
Students triage Mark, an AAACERT member, who is playing the role of a head injury victim. 
Victims wait for treatment.
Anne Arundel and Annapolis CERT (AAACERT) hosts basic training multiple times per year. The course provides students with fundamental skills to respond to the community’s immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster when emergency services are not immediately available. Alone, these basic skills allow people to help themselves, their families, and others. By working together, CERT members can assist in saving lives and protecting property using the simple techniques in this course.
More information about the next CERT Basic Training can be found on the website: https://www.aaacert.org/training/cert-basic-training/
All photos submitted by volunteers and used with permission.