It’s a Saturday morning, and there’s a weather alert at 9 o’clock for a severe wind and storm watch. With minimal staff and the retirement community’s director out of town, what should be done?

Volunteer members of the Wesley Homes Lea Hill Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) sprang into action during this weather-related emergency simulation that involved both residents and staff the day after Thanksgiving last November.

A nurse in the Auburn-area Lea Hill Rehabilitation and Care Center became the incident commander, the person in charge of the on-scene response until public agencies arrive. The resident CERT group was the main response force.

The campus then received a storm warning. Approximately 10 minutes later, the campus lost power. It was a blackout.

With emergency lanterns, the resident response team established a command center around a conference table in a dark office. CERT and its sub-groups — operations, logistics, first aid, trauma and safety and structure — worked to get the backup power up and running.

“This exercise was designed to challenge our preparedness, to give us an opportunity to utilize our training, so we actually load-tested the backup generators during the simulation,” said Greg Byrge, Wesley Homes Lea Hill’s executive director, who helped oversee the drill.

The drill was administered by Auburn Emergency Management (AEM), which provides generalized disaster preparedness training to community groups and organizations. Residents and staff were told the city’s AEM team would inject a variety of incidents into the exercise to test Wesley’s emergency response.

It’s standard procedure to dial 9-1-1 during an emergency. In the Wesley Homes simulation, Auburn’s estimated response time was at least one hour. The front desk staff prioritized internal phone calls and became a key component for relaying urgent information between everyone on campus and the CERT command center, Byrge said.

Other simulated incidents during the drill included:

• A visitor experiencing chest pain. The residents’ first aid team was dispatched to aid the visitor.
• Two downed trees, one of which fell onto part of the building. The command center dispatched appropriate response teams, such as first aid and safety and structure. The teams evacuated the “damaged” apartment, provided any necessary medical aid, and assessed the damage. All of this was then reported back to the command center.

To simulate the potential chaos during a real disaster and test how response teams should prioritize calls and events, the team also received less urgent calls, including a call from a resident who asked if lunch would still be served.

Jerry Thorson, the Auburn Emergency Management manager who led the drill, said the respone was far beyond what he’s used to seeing.

“I was very impressed. It’s rare to see a community this well-prepared,” he said, adding the drill was unique because the response team was mostly residents rather than just staff.

Seven years ago, after an evaluation of safety measures and of the Lea Hills campus’ ability to respond to disasters, residents and staff took the CERT training course. They realized they needed responders for times when there wouldn’t be many staff members on hand. The group is now 60 members strong.

“The fire department’s main priorities tend to be schools and hospitals. We enrolled in CERT training so that we could be self-reliant,” said Millard Battles, one of the residents who spearheaded the effort. “Our goal is to get to a point where we know how to respond to any emergency, almost by second nature.”

Thorson said the leadership at Lea Hill “really facilitates our efforts to train people on emergency-response and disaster preparedness.”

CERT members were analytical of their performance in the November drill, concentrating on ways they could improve. Other residents expressed gratitude for the drill and felt reassured in their safety.

“It went really well,” said Byrge. “Residents were happy to participate. The exercise allowed us to determine how we can improve.

Considering how much went right, it also gave us great confidence in our ability to respond.”

Tyler Turner, an AEM team member, said Lea Hill “is one of the safest places to be in the event of a disaster.”

CERT is free to the public and involves classroom education and hands-on training in disaster preparedness, emergency management, fire safety and first aid. More information about it is available at ready.gov.

It’s a Saturday morning, and there’s a weather alert at 9 o’clock for a severe wind and storm watch. With minimal staff and the retirement community’s director out of town, what should be done?

Volunteer members of the Wesley Homes Lea Hill Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) sprang into action during this weather-related emergency simulation that involved both residents and staff the day after Thanksgiving last November.

A nurse in the Auburn-area Lea Hill Rehabilitation and Care Center became the incident commander, the person in charge of the on-scene response until public agencies arrive. The resident CERT group was the main response force.

The campus then received a storm warning. Approximately 10 minutes later, the campus lost power. It was a blackout.

With emergency lanterns, the resident response team established a command center around a conference table in a dark office. CERT and its sub-groups — operations, logistics, first aid, trauma and safety and structure — worked to get the backup power up and running.

“This exercise was designed to challenge our preparedness, to give us an opportunity to utilize our training, so we actually load-tested the backup generators during the simulation,” said Greg Byrge, Wesley Homes Lea Hill’s executive director, who helped oversee the drill.

The drill was administered by Auburn Emergency Management (AEM), which provides generalized disaster preparedness training to community groups and organizations. Residents and staff were told the city’s AEM team would inject a variety of incidents into the exercise to test Wesley’s emergency response.

It’s standard procedure to dial 9-1-1 during an emergency. In the Wesley Homes simulation, Auburn’s estimated response time was at least one hour. The front desk staff prioritized internal phone calls and became a key component for relaying urgent information between everyone on campus and the CERT command center, Byrge said.

Other simulated incidents during the drill included:

• A visitor experiencing chest pain. The residents’ first aid team was dispatched to aid the visitor.
• Two downed trees, one of which fell onto part of the building. The command center dispatched appropriate response teams, such as first aid and safety and structure. The teams evacuated the “damaged” apartment, provided any necessary medical aid, and assessed the damage. All of this was then reported back to the command center.

To simulate the potential chaos during a real disaster and test how response teams should prioritize calls and events, the team also received less urgent calls, including a call from a resident who asked if lunch would still be served.

Jerry Thorson, the Auburn Emergency Management manager who led the drill, said the respone was far beyond what he’s used to seeing.

“I was very impressed. It’s rare to see a community this well-prepared,” he said, adding the drill was unique because the response team was mostly residents rather than just staff.

Seven years ago, after an evaluation of safety measures and of the Lea Hills campus’ ability to respond to disasters, residents and staff took the CERT training course. They realized they needed responders for times when there wouldn’t be many staff members on hand. The group is now 60 members strong.

“The fire department’s main priorities tend to be schools and hospitals. We enrolled in CERT training so that we could be self-reliant,” said Millard Battles, one of the residents who spearheaded the effort. “Our goal is to get to a point where we know how to respond to any emergency, almost by second nature.”

Thorson said the leadership at Lea Hill “really facilitates our efforts to train people on emergency-response and disaster preparedness.”

CERT members were analytical of their performance in the November drill, concentrating on ways they could improve. Other residents expressed gratitude for the drill and felt reassured in their safety.

“It went really well,” said Byrge. “Residents were happy to participate. The exercise allowed us to determine how we can improve.

Considering how much went right, it also gave us great confidence in our ability to respond.”

Tyler Turner, an AEM team member, said Lea Hill “is one of the safest places to be in the event of a disaster.”

CERT is free to the public and involves classroom education and hands-on training in disaster preparedness, emergency management, fire safety and first aid. More information about it is available at ready.gov.