Preparing For The Worst Case Scenario - Island Garden City of Samal - Deep Water Search and Rescue Exercise

"The City Disaster and Coordinating Council (CDCC) of the Island Garden City of Samal staged Water Search and Rescue Drills last July 29, as a culminating activity in the observance of the National Disaster Preparedness Month.

The scenario -- Reacting to a report from barangay captain Rey A. Villaabrille of Catagman about a capsized rubber boat with about 10 passengers, Incident Commander Rene E. Ambrona immediately alerted members of the IGaCOS City Disaster Coordinating Council (CDCC) and called for a briefing to assess the incident and dispatch the group to the site for water search and rescue (WASAR) operations. As per report, the boat capsized within the vicinity of the municipal waters of barangays Catagman, Peñaplata, and San Jose at around 10 AM that day." (Source: samalcity.gov.ph)

Andrew Levy from the Corporate Service Corps and Neighbors Helping Neighbors was on hand to evaluate the exercise.

The complete article with details about the exercise can be found at: http://samalcity.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=338&Itemid=124

The following is video taking during the event.

This time it was only a drill.

For additional information, please email neighborshelpingneighbors@live.com.

Making Due With No Supplies

The following video is an annual event held in Davao City with a competition between the barangay responders. These volunteers are often

- self taught,
- self funded,
- self organized,

and make use of the limited resources they have on hand, at times without the support of their local barangay (town leadership).

Not only have all of them responded to emergencies in their communities, they also know how to have fun.

It was an honor to get to know these dedicated volunteers and true heroes. They are role models for others around the world.



Additional information about this competition can be found in an earlier posting at Competition Brings People Closer.

Festival VIP Treatment and Protection

The Kadayawan Festival was made even more special with all the VIP treatment we received. Thank you to all of the people we have met during the time we spent in the region.

It was great for groups of people to come up to us, while doing their role at the festival and thanking us for the training, knowledge, and friendship we provided.

But was even better was to know that in the event of a major emergency or disaster that many of the people that were there protecting us, are all well trained in the Incident Command System (ICS) and can all answer the question "Who's In Charge".

From the volunteers, to the response teams, to the NGOs, to the University students, to the government folks. It was great to see everyone come together for such a great celebration. You are a team! And a role model for others around the world.

The following is a list of SOME of the many organizations we worked with.

• Central 911
• Davao City Disaster Coordinating Council
• Region XI Disaster Coordinating Council
• Office of Civil Defense
• Philippine Army
• Philippine National Police
• Task Force Davao
• Philippines Coast Guard
• Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)
• Barangay Fire and Rescue
• Department of Health
• Filipino Chinese Firefighters Foundation
• Davao Volunteer Fire Brigade
• Barangay Captains
• Silver Needles
• Davao City Police
• Davao City Traffic Division
• Davao City Jail
• Davao City Bomb Squad
• Davao City Special Anti-Terrorism Unit
• United Nations
• Panabo City
• Island Garden City of Samal
• Tribal Community
• Davao City Government
• Davao Light and Power Company
• Davao City Water District
• Office of the President, Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo)
• Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
• Davao City Council, City Administrator, and Legislators
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry
• Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Davao Tourism
• DabaweGNU
• Davao International Airport
• Port of Davao
• Toril International Fish Port
• Davao Doctors Hospital
• Davao Medical Center Hospital
• Philippines National Red Cross
• University of Mindanao
• Ateneo de Davao University
• University of the Immaculate Conception
• University of Southeastern Philippines
• Holly Cross University
• Council of Deans for IT Education
• Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators Foundation
• Davao Technopreneurship
  
  and last but not least, all the VOLUNTEERS and all the people of the region.

ICS and CERT Training On The Other Side Of The World - Still The Same Message

Pictured above is Col. Mario Verner Monsanto, Chief Operations Officer, Central Communications and Emergency Response Center (Central 911) and Executive Officer of the city Disaster Coordinating Council. He presented an orientation on disaster management and introduced my sessions.

We had the opportunity to present the following classroom based courses:

• IS-100 Introduction to the Incident Command System
• IS-200 ICS for Single Resources and Initial Action Incidents
• IS-700 National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction
• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training

As many of the participants are already experienced responders, there was limited focus on the hands on portion of the class.

We joked that I was transported to the training via a motorcade, as pictured below.

In attendance were representatives from Central 911 leadership, City Disaster Coordinating Council, Philippines National Red Cross, United Nations, barangay, multiple rescue groups, church based organizations, and other representatives.

Part of the discussions were about working together.

A challenge was presented to all the barangay to spend 1 hour with another barangay response team in an informal setting. Doing something like basketball or anything. This would provide the opportunity for neighbors to get to know neighbors as their barangay are right next to each other. A very simple challenge with a year for them to complete. Everyone agreed that even getting people together for this type of training and really getting to know each other goes a long way.

Who knew I would be working with the best of the best volunteers?

As part of my volunteer work here in Asia Pacific, I would like to introduce you to some pretty incredible people. Several of which have already been featured in this blog.

Barangay Ma-a had a group of people who were headed in the wrong direction. The head of the group got these youth off of the street and turned them around.



They are a bunch of energetic youth, who are back in school, and making a difference with others. Some of them even became instructors in a very short time.

Just like all the dedicated folks we have met, Barangay Ma-a is an incredible group of people with an incredible leader. Volunteers that are making a difference in their own communities and in the world.

This group also had the honor, last week, of being recognized by the President of the Philippines as the best prepared barangay in ALL of the Philippines.

Anyone up for a World Competition on Disaster Preparedness? There would be some excellent skill sharing and a new perspective for all.

Congratulations to this team. I look forward to spending some more time with them in the next few weeks.

A Beginning, Not an End

Yesterday was the culmination and award ceremonies for National Consciousness Month. It was a true honor to be part of the festivities.

During this past month, we had the opportunity to participate and evaluate the following tabletops, exercises, and drills. In addition, taught several classes and train-the-trainer sessions.

• Central 911/Davao City Disaster Coordinating Council (DCDCC) Corporate Service Corps (CSC) Kickoff Meeting
• DCDCC/City Fire and Bomb Drill Tabletop Exercise - Final Planning Meeting
• RDCC Samal Island Water Rescue Exercise Tabletop Exercise - Final Planning Meeting
• DCDCC/City Fire IOC Fire Drill - Evaluator
• DCDCC/City Fire DTI Bomb Drill - Evaluator
• High School Earthquake Exercise, Evaluator
• Inter-Barangay First Aid Competition
• G402 Executive ICS and International Best Practices Training Session - DCDCC Executive Committee - Instructor
• Barangay Leaders Incident Command System (ICS) Train-the-trainer and International Best Practices Training Session - Instructor

These are just some of the many events that took place as part of National Consciousness Month.

Congratulations to all those that received awards.

ICS Training for Barangay Captains

We welcome the Barangay Captains who participated in the Incident Command System (ICS) train-the-trainer session to the "Neighbors Helping Neighbors" blog.


The "G402 Incident Command System (ICS) Overview for Executives/Senior Officials and Download Materials" can be found at:
http://training.fema.gov/STCourses/crsdesc_spec.asp?courseid=G402

The video shown was the Hats of Incident Management: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6iIz3tl5Vw

Several of the materials discussed in the course can be found in the right column on this blog, under "Related Websites".

The additional resources, including forms and other training material, from FEMA can be found at: http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/ICSResource/index.htm

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send an email.

Competition brings people closer together

On Saturday, I had the opportunity to participate in the 3rd Annual Barangay Disaster Coordinating Council first aid competition. It was an exciting experience to participate and become an honorary member of the council.


At the beginning of the program, I had the opportunity to address the audience.


Participants, groups of volunteers, compete at multiple stations.

For this annual event there were six teams from different barangay (districts) within the city. The teams do not necessarily have any formal training, but are really good at what they do.





There is a clear contrast between the barangay teams and many of our Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), which have formal training programs, but limited response. The barangay groups have limited formal training, self organized and often are the first on the scene to an incident.


Their volunteer response is part of their everyday life.


The following is a picture with all of the participants of this years program.



We would also like to introduce the world to my friends from the Silver Needles and all the other teams.


To get a true appreciation of this competition, take a look at the video from last years competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eV3v70VxwbM

For counties that have multiple CERT teams, you may consider having a similar competition between teams. This is also an excellent idea to implement with neighboring counties.