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Northgate CERT

2018 January Meeting

January 5, 2018

Happy New Year Northgate CERTs.

Please join us Wednesday evening Jan. 3rd @ 7PM at the Mormon Church at Doncaster and Northgate Rd.

Amanda Feher, our Animals Staging supervisor, will train us on pet handling skills for Search & Rescue (SAR) teams – how to approach a friendly dog, avoid an unfriendly one, etc. For those of us without pets this is a perishable skill that needs refreshing annually (at least). Warm, cozy pets are a great topic for a cold Winter evening 🙂

If you miss the meeting, remember that you can always attend the CERT Basic training classes and we do teach animal handling skills. The class

The Spring 2018 basic training evening classes start April 10th and registration is open now. Schedule of classes and locations are posted on the CERT calendar and on the Training page.

2017 October Meeting

October 3, 2017

Hello Northgate CERTs.

Please join us Wednesday evening, October 4th, at the Mormon Church at Doncaster and Northgate Rd. We will practice for the drill.

SAVE THE DATE  ##  October 28th – Fall city-wide drill – 8AM – noon ##

Please participate in the drill for the Northgate area. We need all hands on deck to set up and run the Command Post with IC, Plans, Ops, & Comms areas; plus field SAR teams for windshield surveys. I’d like for our HAMs to spread out and test Comms on all the preset simplex frequencies allocated to NG CERT – we need non-HAM drivers for this. At the Command Post, we will need scribes to support Plans and Ops, as well as Comms.

Drill location: the NG CERT cache on Valley Vista Rd. at the golf course maintenance facility. Park on the street.

Bring your CERT backpack supplies, including PPE. Dress to be outside. CERT backpack supplies list is posted here –  http://walnut-creek.org/home/showdocument?id=12656

Links to Field Team Message Forms – examples & blank forms –

FYI – upcoming CERT events thru the end of 2017:

  • October 28th – Fall city-wide drill – all 8 CERT areas
  • November 11th, Saturday – HAM cram – pre-registration REQUIRED on-line at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • November 15th, Wednesday – Getting on the Air class for new HAMs
  • November 18th, Saturday – Disaster Medical Hands On class – continuing education , 0010-1400 hrs. in Diablo Room in the Hillside Club House at Rossmoor. Class is open to all CERTs and to students who have taken the two Med Ops basic training classes. Pre-registration is required. Register at http://walnut-creek.org/department-services/public-safety/emergency-preparedness/cert-basic-training
  • December 20th, Wednesday – Getting on the Air class #2 – practice with new radios

2017 August Meeting

July 19, 2017
The monthly NG CERT meeting on August 2nd at 7PM will be at our cache on Valley Vista Rd. at the golf course maintenance facility. Directions are attached below. Dress to be outside in the shade for the meeting.
SAVE THE DATE  ##  October 28th – Fall city-wide drill  ##
Please plan to participate int he drill for the Northgate area. We need all hands on deck to set up and run the Command Post with Comms, Med Ops, Animals Staging; plus field SAR teams for windshield surveys. More info will be distributed in September.  I’d like for our HAMs to spread out and test Comms on all the preset simplex frequencies allocated to NG CERT – we need non-HAM drivers for this. Please let me know if you have other suggestions for activities for this drill.
At the August meeting we will do a scavenger hunt in the cache to get familiar with the storage layout & make it quicker to pull out supplies at the drill on October 28th.
To find CERT training classes this Fall use the links posted at our CERT website <walnut-creek.org/cert>
We will not run training classes in Walnut Creek this Fall. FEMA expects to provide updated CERT training materials by the end of August & we need time to review and update our basic training materials.
FYI – upcoming CERT events thru the end of 2017:
  • postponed – August Light Up the City drill (moved to October 28th drill)
  • canceled – Fall CERT Basic training classes (Spring and Fall 2018 classes are planned)
  • October 28th – Fall city-wide drill – all 8 CERT areas
  • November 18th, Saturday – Disaster Medical Hands On class – continuing education , 0010-1400 hrs. in Diablo Room in the Hillside Club House at Rossmoor. Class is open to all CERTs and to students who have taken the two Med Ops basic training classes. Pre-registration is required. Registration will open Sept. 1 at <walnut-creek.org/cert>.

2017 May Meeting

May 4, 2017

Hello all Northgate CERTs and CERT students –

We will meet at the Mormon Church on Doncaster & Northgate Rd next Wednesday evening, May 3rd, for the NG CERT monthly meeting. (Next month we will meet at the cache since it will stay light later.)

Welcome to our new CERT graduates – Eileen Shimizu and Leroy Shimizu!

This month Ian McGowan will talk about the new web site for Northgate CERT – we need ideas for the site. If time allows, please review the new Walnut Creek CERT web page for training materials – http://walnut-creek.org/departments/public-safety/emergency-preparedness/cert-basic-trainings-class-materials

At the June NG CERT meeting we will welcome new CERT graduates from Spring classes. And Peggy Gipps will lead an exercise based on the ‘Information Handling in the CERT CP’ document attached below. The exercise is based on basic training class scenarios for the Field Team Message Forms (FTMFs). I will send these out before the June meeting.

No meeting in July since so close to 4th of July. The August meeting would be a good time to test the SAR maps that we haven’t tested already.

Anyone interested in fire extinguisher refresher training with live fire? I’m thinking about running a continuing ed. class on a Saturday this summer or Fall that would also include an excellent PG&E presentation on gas & electrical safety. We need more trainers for the basic training class – if anyone is interested please let me know. At the Spring training at ConFIre on Treat (by Trader Joe’s) setup, training & cleanup were so much easier than past classes at ARF. We will run the continuing ed. class there too

Upcoming CERT classes and events thru the end of 2017:
Spring CERT Basic training classes continue thru May 17th

  • May 20th – CERT graduation drill hosted by Heather Farm CERT
  • June 10th, Saturday – Spring “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Sign-up at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • June 14th, Wednesday evening – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1
  • July 12th, Wednesday evening – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • August 27th (likely date) – Light Up the City – Comms drill
  • canceled – Fall CERT Basic training classes
  • October 28th – Fall city-wide
  • a Saturday, date TBD – Fall “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Register at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • November 18th, Saturday – Disaster Medical Hands On class – continuing education , 0010-1400 hrs.in Diablo Room in the Hillside Club House at Rossmoor. Class is open to all CERTs and to students who have taken the two Med Ops basic training classes.

2017 April Meeting

April 1, 2017

Hello all Northgate CERTs –

We will meet at the Mormon Church on Doncaster & Northgate Rd next Wednesday evening, April 5th, for the NG CERT monthly meeting.

This month we will brainstorm to make a list of training topics to cover in with field teams before they deploy from the CP during disaster response. Stuff like hands on RPM, HTTA, transport with blanket or stretcher lifts, hard backboard techniques (log roll onto board), SAR route maps, Comms protocols, Field Team Message Form, etc.

The Spring 2017 CERT training classes start next Wednesday evening, April 5th. The schedule for the classes is attached below – includes class locations. Note that the Fall 2017 sessions have been canceled to allow time for our instructors to review the new FEMA-CERT training materials that are expected in August/September.

It is likely that Sugarloaf & Tice Valley CERT areas will go ahead with the Fall 2017 training drill and will recruit CERTs to be on the SAR teams.

Upcoming CERT classes and events thru the end of 2017: 

  • April 5th – Spring CERT Basic training classes begin 
  • May 20th – CERT graduation drill hosted by Heather Farm CERT
  • June 10th, Saturday – Spring “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Sign-up at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1 
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • August 27th (likely date) – Light Up the City – Comms drill
  • canceled – Fall CERT Basic training classes 
  • October 28th – Fall CERT graduation drill hosted by Sugarloaf CERT
  • a Saturday, date TBD – Fall “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Register at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1 
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • a Saturday, Saturday November 18th – Disaster Medical Hands On class – continuing education , 0010-1400 hrs.in Diablo Room in the Hillside Club House at Rossmoor. 

March Meeting

March 1, 2017
Apologies for the late notice but the Northgate CERT meeting for tomorrow evening is canceled.
The list of upcoming CERT events is provide below. The CERT Winter graduation drill is this Saturday. Then we look forward to the start of Spring training classes in a month.
The Spring 2018 drill will be hosted by Northgate CERT! Now is a good time to start refreshing your skills by auditing the basic training classes and/or attending the monthly meetings where we practice CERT skills.
Upcoming CERT classes and events thru the end of 2017: dates added for Fall basic training on Thursday evenings
  • March 4th – CERT graduation drill hosted by Rossmoor CERT
  • April 5th – Spring CERT Basic training classes begin at City Hall, 3rd floor conference room; sign-up at www.walnut-creek.org/cert
  • May 20th – CERT graduation drill hosted by Heather Farm CERT
  • June 10th, Saturday – Spring “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Sign-up at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • August 27th (likely date) – Light Up the City – Comms drill
  • September 7, 2017 – Fall CERT Basic training classes begin at City Hall, 3rd floor conference room
  • October 28th – Fall CERT graduation drill hosted by Sugarloaf CERT
  • Saturday November 11th – Fall “HAM CRAM” FCC radio licensing class, 0800-1630 hrs. Register at: https://sites.google.com/site/wccerthams
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE-AIR” radio training class #1
  • a Wednesday evening, date TBD – “GET-ON-THE AIR” HAM radio training #2
  • Saturday November 18th – Disaster Medical Hands On class – continuing education , 0010-1400 hrs.in Diablo Room in the Hillside Club House at Rossmoor.