The most sobering concept I encountered in CERT training was the triage protocol- if the victim's airway is occluded, make two attempts to open it. If unsuccessful, drop a black tag and move on. Do not attempt CPR in the overwhelming disaster to which this protocol applies. Think about it a bit - it makes perfect sense. Our instructor pointed out that CPR requires massive application of resources for what is typically an unsuccessful outcome. He stated that he had been present at something like 300 CPR scenes, and had witnessed or participated in exactly seven successful resuscitations.

The level of training achieved in the initial CERT course is well short of mapping neighborhoods, although I have been paying much more attention to electrical lines and the like following training. It should be interesting to see how the CERT concept evolves and matures in the future; doubtless it will be more successful in some jurisdictions (especially those prone to EQ?) than in others.

It is worth mentioning that CERT is not the only pool of "semi-pro" resources available to First Responders in a massive disaster. In our county, many county employees are designated as Disaster Service Workers. For specific tasks, they, and their equipment, will be extremely helpful.
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Geezer in Chief