VashonBePrepared offers ways to stay safe and help others

Published 1:30 am Thursday, November 2, 2023

Sign up: Beginning CERT Course

Would you invest a few hours on a Saturday to quadruple the safety and preparedness of your household?

If you say yes, it’s time for you to sign up for Part 1 of the three-part Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) basic course. The one-day preparedness module is on Saturday, Jan. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

That’s more than two months away, but the 50-plus seats in the course will disappear in a flash so get your name in now.

Email CERT@VashonBePrepared.org to put your name on the list. You can also phone or text 206-949-1184.

The five-hour Part 1 household safety and preparedness course is a pre-requisite for the rest of the CERT basic training program, which will be offered from Jan. 20 through March 9. The full hands-on and action-oriented basic CERT course runs on eight Saturdays. It will teach you:

• Safety around utility problems such as gas leaks and damaged power lines.
• Reducing potential fire and electrical hazards and putting out various types of small fires.
• First aid, including head-to-toe assessments, wound care, splinting, triage of multiple patients, and more.
• Sizing up emergency situations and responding safely and effectively within your limits.
• Searching structures and the Vashon community or woods for lost persons.
• Vashon CERT team operations, responsibilities, and coordination with other organizations.

Get more details about all things CERT, including info on the full multi-day training course here.

Big Weather Coming: You Can Help

In the world of emergency management, there’s a concept called situational awareness.

Basically, it’s the idea that you need to know what’s happening in order to make good decisions about how to respond to the emergency. As we move into storm season, you can contribute to situational awareness for the Vashon Emergency Operations Center and other Vashon emergency responders by knowing how to report road and power problems.

• To report road problems such as downed trees, call 206-477-8100 or email maint.roads@kingcounty.gov.
• To report a power outage, call 888-225-5773. Call 9-1-1 to report a downed power line. You can get information on when your power will be restored with the MyPSE smartphone app.
• And here’s a reminder: Always treat a downed power line as HOT – live and dangerous!

Emergency Power for Medical Needs

We got a note from an islander recently, asking how to keep essential medical devices going when the power gets knocked out.

For example, someone at your house might need reliable backup power for a ventilator, a power wheelchair, an oxygen concentrator, a chair lift, or IV equipment. We did some research and compiled this list of steps you can take:

• For life support equipment such as a ventilator, call Puget Sound Energy at 888-225-5773. Ask to apply for Life Support status, which will put your home on a priority list in your neighborhood for restoration in case of an outage.
• Consider purchasing an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) like the ones used to keep computers going. It stays plugged in and is constantly charged. Then, when the power goes out, the battery-powered UPS automatically takes over. Power from the UPS depends on how much your device needs and the capacity of the UPS device.
• An alternate source of electricity is especially important for islanders who have health or mobility challenges and can’t go without power for a long period of time. Many islanders already have gas, propane, or diesel generators. High-capacity portable electric power stations are an alternative to generators that use batteries and can be recharged at the wall plate or using portable solar panels. Power station bonus: no need to store fuel or tune them up.

For all of these situations, you will want to assess how much power is needed and if the power source will work with your devices. Consult the manufacturer’s specifications to help make a decision about how big a UPS, power station, or generator you may need.

COVID Risk Level: Basic

The COVID hospitalization rate continues below the trigger point for an increase in our risk advice tool.

The updated COVID vaccine aims to prevent severe disease and hospitalization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the latest version of the vaccine to everyone six months and older.

VashonBePrepared volunteers from the Medical Reserve Corps and the Emergency Operations Center are helping out at the pharmacy to serve the high volume of those seeking the vaccine.

At the basic risk level, wear an N95 mask indoors in public if you have been exposed to COVID, are at risk for health or other reasons, and/or live with or spend time with someone at high risk.

Plan on getting the updated COVID and flu vaccines in early fall.

Maintain good ventilation at home and at work, and avoid those with suspected or confirmed COVID.

If exposed to COVID, wear a mask in public and avoid contact with those at high risk for 10 days.

Always home-test if you have symptoms. If you test positive, isolate for at least five days and until you test negative. Also check in right away with your doctor about treatment, even if your symptoms are initially mild.

If immunocompromised, discuss additional prevention actions with your healthcare provider.

The VashonBePrepared COVID Risk Advice Tool aggregates data in our exposure area of King and Pierce counties. The primary metric evaluated by the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps is the COVID hospitalization rate because public health agencies reliably report that.