2nd Quarter 2017
West SENECA CERT SERVING THE COMMUNITY SINCE 2006
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Spring Has Sprung! Get Ready for Wild Weather! Spring weather can be unpredictable. Reduce injury risk and plan ahead. Spring is the time of year when many things change—including the weather. Temperatures can swing back and forth between balmy and frigid. Sunny days may be followed by a week of stormy weather. Sometimes extreme weather changes can occur even within the same day. Mark Twain once said, “In the spring I have counted one hundred and thirty-six kinds of weather inside of four and twenty hours.” Thunderstorms cause most of the severe spring weather. They can bring lightning, tornadoes, and flooding. Whenever warm, moist air collides with cool, dry air, thunderstorms can occur. For much of the world, this happens in spring and summer. Because spring weather is so unpredictable, you may be unprepared when severe weather hits—particularly if you live in a region that does not often experience thunderstorms, tornadoes, or flooding. And when severe weather hits unexpectedly, the risk of injury and death increases. So planning ahead makes sense; prepare for storms, floods, and tornadoes as if you know in advance they are coming, because in the
spring, they very likely will. Advance planning for thunderstorms, lightning, tornadoes, and floods requires specific safety precautions. Often by the time we are aware of an approaching storm, we have little if any time to prepare for it. Advance planning for thunderstorms, lightning,and floods requires specific safety precautions. You can follow many of the same steps that you would for all extreme weather events. Keep an emergency kit on hand. Some items to include are: • A battery-operated flashlight, a battery-operated NOAA Weather Radio, and extra batteries for both • An emergency evacuation or shelter plan, including a map of your home and, for every type of severe weather emergency, routes to safety from each room • A list of important personal information, including: • telephone numbers of neighbors, family, and friends • insurance and property information • telephone numbers of utility companies • medical information
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A first aid kit may include: • non-latex gloves • assortment of adhesive bandages • antibiotic ointment • sterile gauze pads in assorted sizes • absorbent compress dressings • tweezers • scissors • adhesive cloth tape • aspirin packets (81 mg each) • first aid instruction booklet • A 3–5 day supply of bottled water and nonperishable food • Personal hygiene items • Blankets or sleeping bags NOTE: Customize your first aid kit to meet your individual and family needs. Prepare your family members for the possibility of severe weather. Tell them where to seek appropriate shelter as soon as they are aware of an approaching storm. Practice your emergency plan for every type of severe weather. Show family members where the emergency supplies are stored, and make sure they know how to turn off the water, gas, and electricity in your home. Often by the time we are aware of an approaching storm, we have little if any time to prepare for it. But we do know that when spring arrives, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and floods are real possibilities. So why not take the surprise factor out of severe weather and prepare yourself, your family, and your home? If thunderstorms, tornadoes, and floods do occur, you’ll be ready for them.
What to do until EMS arrives Written by Paul Gannon
It is a beautiful summer afternoon. A few friends are over for a visit. Suddenly, one collapses on your pool deck. Do you know what to do? Ideally, you have taken a First Aid/CPR/ AED course from an organization such as the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. Unfortunately, many people have not been trained and are not prepared to respond when faced with a medical emergency. If you are one of them, try to remember and follow these instructions. The most important thing you can do is to call 911 without delay. The dispatcher will send assistance, and then tell you what to do until help arrives. Make sure it is safe to approach the victim. Stop and look for hazards. If the scene is not safe, stay back and wait for help. There are 4 situations that you might encounter when helping someone in a medical emergency. The victim may be: • Unconscious and not breathing. • Unconscious and breathing. • Conscious and choking. • Conscious and breathing. Someone who is unconscious and not breathing could need CPR. For those who are trained in it, full CPR, where you compress the chest, then tilt the head back, lift the chin, and give mouth-to-mouth breaths, is best. Compression-only, or hands-only CPR, where you just compress the chest continuously, may help. You can learn about this technique in just a few minutes,
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by watching an on-line video. The American Red Cross and the American Heart Association each have videos on their web sites. If someone is unconscious and breathing, help keep their air passage open by tilting their head back and lifting their chin. Roll them on one side, if needed, to allow any fluids to drain out of their mouth. Cover them, as necessary, to prevent them from getting cold. Someone choking on something is in distress, and can’t breathe, cough or talk. They may grab their throat. Back blows, chest thrusts, and abdominal thrusts can all dislodge the object. Restaurants have posters with instructions for choking first aid. Look for them when you eat out. If someone is conscious, breathing, and injured, do not move them. Moving them may make injuries worse. Cover them, as necessary, to prevent them from getting cold. Reassure them that help is on the way. If someone is conscious, breathing, and ill rather than injured, help them get into a comfortable position. It is safe to move them because they don’t have any injuries to worry about. Have them rest quietly. Cover them, as necessary, to prevent them from getting cold. Reassure them that help is on the way. An injured person could be bleeding. To stop the bleeding, fold a clean cloth into a pad. Place it over the wound. Apply firm pressure and don’t stop. If blood soaks through, quickly place a second pad on top of the first, and press harder. Use a glove
or piece of plastic between your hands and the pad, to keep blood off your hands. Wash your hands afterwards. Let’s return to the scene where your friend has collapsed on your pool deck. You grab a cell phone and call 911. You carefully approach the scene, looking for any hazards. There is a puddle on the deck that he might have slipped on. You walk around it. Your friend is unconscious and breathing, but his head is bent forward and he is making a loud snoring noise. You tilt his head back and lift his chin. He begins breathing easier. You keep the air passage open until help arrives. He is bleeding from a cut on the side of his head. You ask someone to get kitchen gloves and a dishtowel from the house. They put on the gloves, and fold the towel into a pad. Then they cover the wound and apply pressure to slow the bleeding. Cover your friend with some dry beach towels. if he begins to vomit quickly roll him onto his side so that it can drain out of his mouth. A few minutes later, you hear sirens. A volunteer fire chief’s car pulls into your driveway. The chief grabs a kit from the vehicle and takes over caring for your friend. Within a short time, he is on his way to the hospital. Later, at the hospital, your friend is recovering and thanks you for your help. You decide to buy a first aid kit and take a First Aid/CPR/AED course to learn more about responding to emergencies.
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West Seneca John Gullo Emergency Manager (716) 558-3238 jgullo@twsny.org Meetings - 7:00 PM 3rd Monday of the month
Promoted to Team Leader Congratulations to Karen Roward was promoted to Team Leader. Karen joins Jim Manley and Ron Pawelski as Team Leaders. Karen was previously a Unit Leader. Current Unit Leaders are Sue Pawlewski, Dennis Schultz, and Tom Schuster.
Dates are set for Adopt-AHighway. Dates for West Seneca CERT’s Adopt-a-Highway are Saturday, May 6th and Friday, May 12th. As always we meet at the West Seneca EOC and sign-in before clean up. Clinton Road near Union is the Team’s section. If you have any questions contact Jim Manley.
Upcoming Events & Training April 17 WS CERT Drill 22 Gallivan Health & Safety Fair May 22 WS CERT Drill
Fire Explorers and CERT joint Training Members participated in a First Aid refresher during the February Drill. The Vigilant Explorers helped members practice and learn First Aid. There were 4 different stations set up and the CERT members rotated throughout the stations.
CPR Class
29 Memorial Day Parade June 23 & 24 WS Community Days
Training and meetings: West Seneca Central School Ebenezer Building 900 Mill Road West Seneca, NY 14224 Watch website and Facebook for training and meeting locations. Web: www.wscert.net Facebook: West Seneca Cert 2017 Drills: January 16th February 20th March 20th April 17th May 15th June 19th September 18th October 16th November 20th December 19th CERT Leaders: James Manley Ron Pawlewski Sue Pawlewski Karen Roward Dennis Schultz Tom Schuster
August 1 National Night Out September 4 Taste of West Seneca & PBA Car Show 18 CERT Drill
Sign up for Code Red to be notified of emergency situations or critical community alerts.
West Seneca
www.westseneca.net, wscert. net and facebook page