1ST ANNUAL CERT RODEO ROUND UP

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1 1ST ANNUAL CERT RODEO ROUND UP (Houston, TX) - Harris County Citizen Corps hosted its first annual Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Rodeo Round Up on Saturday, February 3rd, at the Harris County Fire and Sheriff's Office Training Academy in Humble, Texas. CERT members from across the county competed in a series of events incorporating the skills learned during their eight-week emergency preparedness training. "CERT teams are truly first-responders at the community level. The program gives them the skills to protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors. They prepare throughout the year for various types of disasters and this rodeo-style competition is a fun way to showcase the skills they bring back to their community after completing the program," says Harris County Judge Robert Eckels. Harris County Judge Robert Eckels discusses preparedness with Constables from Precinct 4. The competition gave a hands-on test of participant's skills in basic medical operations, search and rescue, fire suppression, incident command, and other aspects of emergency preparedness and response.

2 The Lone Star Cowgirls Drill Team greets CERT teams as they arrive at the rodeo. We would like to thank all of the participating partners, sponsors and response agencies: Amateur Radio Emergency Services (A.R.E.S.); American Red Cross; Catholic Charities; Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT); Fire Corps; Interfaith Ministries; Medical Reserve Corps; RSVP; Salvation Army; United Way; USA On Watch; Victim Relief Ministries; Volunteer Houston; Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS); Sponsors: Allstate Foundation; Esor Consulting Engineers, Inc.; Houston Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Mathews Electrical, Inc.; Trigg Foods, Inc.; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; Halliburton; SURVCON Inc; FedEx Kinko's; Parker Drilling Company; National Tire & Battery; Tomball Fire Department; Houston Fire Department; Seabrook Fire Department; Harris County HAZMAT; Harris County Sheriffs Office; Harris County Constables Precinct 4; Pasadena Volunteer Fire Department; Houston Police Department; ESD1; Aldine Volunteer Fire Department; Cy Fair Volunteer Fire Department; Cypress Creek EMS; Harris County Fire Marshal; Eastex Volunteer Fire Department; and METRO Police. Thank you! You made the first annual Harris County CERT Rodeo a huge success. Registration and check in.

3 The American Red Cross disaster communication vehicle was on display. Vendor Booth Area

4 Over 200 CERT participants were assigned to teams representing; Christ Church Baptist, Cy Fair, FOCUS, Jersey Village, Klein/Spring Creek Forest, METRO, Montgomery College, North Shore TEEN CERT, Prince Complex 5 th Ward, RSVP/Bellaire, Spring Branch, and Sunnyside/South Park Community. The Salvation Army served breakfast and lunch. ARES provided communication for the entire event.

5 The rodeo events: Station 1 - Triage: This was a tabletop exercise in Classroom 8. Teams had 5 minutes to triage 25 patients whose injuries were listed on cards. Each team had to sort the cards: Immediate, Delayed, or Dead. Then the teams had 5 additional minutes to reevaluate and triage again after the cards were turned over. Station 2 - Medical Treatment: 8 patients were marked with injuries. Teams performed a head-to-toe assessment, evaluated as Immediate, Delayed or Dead and had to treat the injuries with available materials and document.

6 Station 3 - Gang Plank Team Building: A team of 4 covered a 20-foot distance on two 8-foot wooden planks with rope handles. At the turn around, 4 different team members returned to the start/finish line. Station 4 - Tower Search & Rescue: This was a timed event, teams had 15 minutes to complete the task. Numbered tennis balls were hidden on floors 1 through 3 of the burn building. 2 Person teams searched and retrieved the tennis balls. Search and Rescue.

7 Station 5 - Fire Suppression: Teams approached and suppressed 4 small fires utilizing the P.A.S.S. method. Station 6 - Patient Transport Teams had 15 minutes to assess three victims, evaluate and transport. Each victim was to be approached and triaged. One victim was to be transported to a staging area before the next victim could be transported. Applications included backboard, chair, and blanket carry skills. Patient treatment and transport.

8 Station 7 - Ground Search and Rescue: Teams had 15 minutes to search the field and cross the finish line. A single line search was done across the designated search area looking for evidence. Field search and rescue. (Evidence identification) Station 8 - Cribbing: Teams had 15 minutes to complete this task. A victim will be trapped under the concrete block. The team needed to use proper cribbing techniques to extract the trapped victim. Station 9 - Incident Command: Teams selected an Incident Commander for the entire event. The IC was responsible for organizing the team for each event, communication, documentation and reporting all event scores at completion of the day. CERT Teams meet at their IC tents.

9 Life Flight made a grand entrance. CERT Teams gather at the final debrief. Harris County Citizen Corps is committed to creating opportunities for people to volunteer to help our community prepare for and respond to emergencies. The primary goal is to have all citizens participate in making neighborhoods safer by providing them the tools and training needed for preventing and handling threats of terrorism, crime, and disasters of all kinds.