Background

A number of CERTS have been established across Grand Cayman over the past seven years and these teams have increased the resilience of the Cayman Islands at the community level. HMCI and Red Cross have now developed an exercise to maintain and heighten the skills learned by the members of the various teams. This exercise will be held annually, and is designed to help the CERT members to maintain the skills, knowledge and resources they acquired during CERT training. The exercise will also be used to foster inter-CERTs interaction and coordination.

The annual exercises will be known as “CERT Challenge”. Therefore, this year exercise will be called “CERT Challenge 2016”. The next Challenge will be “CERT Challenge 2017”.

 

CERT Challenge

• HMCI and CI Red Cross will convene CERT Challenge 2016.
• This will be held at the Agricultural Grounds June 4^th, 2016.
• Six Teams from Grand Cayman and one from Cayman Brac will participate.
• Time of event 8:00 a.m. – 1 p.m.
• Deputy Governor to open Challenge
• Special guest – Chief Officer MoHA, Sponsor Butterfield
• A general scenario with all units taught in the CERT training programme will be written into an exercise.

 

Methodology

The challenge will be conducted through a general scenario simulating a disaster event in a fictitious community “Build Safe”. The scenario is facilitated by a number of activities that forms the general scenario. These activities will be conducted at Challenge Stations and through the demarcated boundary of the Challenge area.(see map) At these Challenge Stations the CERT will be allowed to conduct/demonstrate/illustrate lessons from the CERT Manual and training.

The Challenge will be managed by HMCI and CI Red Cross. It will have the teams report to the Agricultural Ground and there the teams will perform various tasks as a part of the CERT Challenge. Marshals supervising the Challenge Station will score the teams as they carry out various tasks. The CERT that scores the highest total from the points earned at each Challenge Station will be declared the winner.

Each CERT will be responsible for directing / guiding their team members through the community. Each will receive a map of the community highlighting prominent structures and indicating time sensitive Challenge Stations.

A Time Sensitive Challenge Station (TSCS) is a station that each team has to complete independently. Only one team at a time will be allowed to conduct this activity. As such each time is assigned a specific time to report to the stations and conduct the activity within a specified time frame. If a team arrives late at a TSCS, no additional time will be given for the activity to be completed.

These stations are

• CPR/First Aid
• Search and Rescue
• Fire Safety and
• Shelter Management

e.g.

HMCI CERT Time Sensitive Challenge Station
9:30 – 9:50	First Aid / CPR
1015 – 1030	Search and Rescue
1045 – 1100	Fire Safety and
1110 – 1125	Shelter Management

 

Activities and posters that have a radio stamp/icon on the map and at the location will require you to make a radio report to the NEOC using the Truken radio and your CERT radio.

There will be 5 stations to cover 10 units of the manual and First Aid and CPR. There are activities such as damage assessment that will be distributed over the challenge area.

See table below.

Order of Activities

0800 – 0830

The CERT will report to the Agriculture grounds and organize themselves for the challenge.

Each team must report with their CERT “Two Men” Kits

• Each team will have a maximum of ten members.

0900 – 0915 Briefing of exercise, rules and expectations.

 

09150 – 0930 CERTs are dispatched to their respective starting point in the challenge.

 

0930 – 0950 First rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

0950 – 1010 Second rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1010 – 1030 Third rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1030 – 1050 Fourth rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1050 – 1110 Fifth rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1110 – 1130 Sixth rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1130 – 1150 Seventh rotation of CERT from Challenge Station

 

1150 – 1235 Closing Remarks and Presentation of Prize