Fairfax County Law Enforcement Explorers

The Fairfax County Law Enforcement Explorer Post is open to Fairfax County young adults ages 14-20. The program is sponsored by the Police Department as a service to the residents of Fairfax County. Members receive law enforcement training and citizenship and character education while gaining experience in leadership roles.

Exploring is a youth led program with Police Officers serving as advisors and facilitators for the program. The Post routinely provides community service by assisting police officers with crime prevention activities, fingerprinting and photographing of children, police open houses and community events, as well as distributing public information and wanted fliers.

Exploring is a great way for youth to prepare for their chosen career field or help them decide if their interest is strong enough to lead them into a law enforcement career.

Many active Fairfax County Police Officers were once Explorer Scouts, and just as many former Explorers have gone on to varied career fields building upon the skills gained through the Explorer program.

Every two years, the Post participates in the national Explorer conference, regularly bringing home top honors in various law enforcement competitions.

Boy Scout CERT Emergency Preparedness

Boy Scouts in Fairfax County regularly participate in camporees that focus on emergency preparedness.

Members of the Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) showed off their CERT skills and trained Boy Scouts at the George Mason District BSA camporee on October 13th and 14th, 2007. This camporee was held at the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy.

The purpose of the camporee was to teach the scout participants the ideas and some of the methods of effective disaster preparedness and mitigation.

The camporee simulated the functions and activities of a recovery center after "hurricane George" destroys the fire academy and surrounding areas. Each scout came to the academy with their own personal disaster preparedness kit, and this is what they utilized throughout the weekend. The scouts were challenged and educated in a variety of disaster related skills and scenarios.

The scout troops were operating as patrols for this event, under the leadership of a CERT "subject matter expert", who lead and taught the scouts under their tutelage through the various training and reaction scenarios.

Each scout was given a 16 page instructional guide which explains how to make a personal disaster kit, and how to prepare for various disasters.

Scouter (and CERT 12 member) Charles Monts was the Scout lead for this event. This event fulfilled several of the primary requirements of the Emergency preparedness merit badge for the scouts. In addition to CERT team members as subject matter experts; additional CERT's were utilized as command and control staff, moulage technicians and logistical preparation staff.

This event served to promote the concept of the Community Emergency Response Team to a receptive audience and helps the Fairfax County CERT team participate in a truly unique community outreach event! This is just one example of the many scout events that have been conducted in Fairfax County.

Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Participates in America's Safe Schools Week Press Conference

Members of the Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council participated in a press conference on "Creating a Culture of Preparedness Among Schools" at Mt. Vernon High School.

Present were Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, Department of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.

Greeting the Secretaries were Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Acting Director Roy Shrout, Fairfax County OEM Public Information Officer and Volunteer Liaison Ellen Kamilakis, and Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Chairman, Andrew Levy.

Students from the Fairfax County Fire and Emergency Medical Services Science program were also represented by student Lauren Kovacic, Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Student Representative, and Julia von Baumgarten and Ben Ray. After the press conference, the students were interviewed by the press.

When the students greeted Secretary Gutierrez, they were presented a coin from the Department of Commerce.

During the press conference, Secretary Chertoff gave a commendation to the Citizen Corps Council for all its efforts.

A copy of the DHS press release, which references Citizen Corps Council, can be found at: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1193754645157.shtm

and for the Department of Education at:
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2007/10/10302007.html

The Washington Post article can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/30/AR2007103000849.html?hpid=moreheadlines

Students In Emergency Preparedness Programs Not A New Concept For Fairfax County

After being elected Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Chairman, Andrew Levy, added a volunteer student position to the council with a representative from Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS). "It is important to remember that students are a vital part of our population and their participation in emergency response in Fairfax County is nothing new".

Throughout this week, this blog will focus on several students programs, including Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences, Law Enforcement Explorers, and Boy Scout Emergency Preparedness. As well as the many emergency preparedness exercises and outreach programs our students in Fairfax County participate in.

Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences

Working with FCPS sponsor, Penny Kelly, Lauren Kovacic was selected as the Citizen Corps Council representative and Ashley Smith as alternate. Both of these students are part of the Fire and Emergency Sciences is offered at Falls Church High School.

While many areas are developing Teen CERT programs. This course has been in place for several years. It is a full year course taken in both the fall and spring semesters. Fire and Emergency Medical Sciences prepares the student to enter the workforce or pursue further education in the field of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Fire Science.

The principles and practices of emergency response and fire fighting are explored under the direct supervision of a certified EMT-B instructor.

The curriculum consists of planned learning experiences in the classroom, laboratory, and faculty supervised clinical settings. Students will have the opportunity to observe and interact with a variety of patients experiencing varying degrees of injury or disease that are carefully selected to provide appropriate clinical learning experiences. As preparation, students are provided with ample lab practice to fully prepare them for the clinical experience and minimize risks.

During the course of study, students have the opportunity to earn the following certifications: American Heart Association Healthcare Provider Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Emergency Medical Technician-Basic (EMT-B), Hazardous Materials Response, Bloodborne Pathogens, and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Offsite clinical lab opportunities at Northern Virginia Community College, Medical Education Center (NVCC MEC) and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy are available to the students. Students must purchase uniforms and liability insurance to participate in clinical experiences.

For additional information on this program, please visit http://www.fcps.edu/DIS/OCTE/healtho/descript.htm#anchor-fire

Capital Shield Details

The following website provides additional information on the Capital Shield exercise members of the Fairfax County CERT participated in:

http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/10/26/5792-captal-shield-propels-ncr-into-response-mode/

After you read through the article and look at the pictures, it becomes clear Fairfax County Citizen Corps volunteers are helping the best of the best train.

What Makes Fairfax County CERT Different?

"We just don't train... WE TRAIN!"

Members of the Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), do not just train to be prepared to help others in a disaster, they also play a vital role in helping our nation's military and emergency response agencies prepare for a major disaster.

Fairfax CERT regularly serve as victims as part of these exercises, such as Capital Shield (October 2007), as pictured below.

Exercises are conducted to help ensure that government agencies at every level are prepared to take coordinated action to protect the public in the event of an actual emergency across the National Capital Region.

Pictured above are rescuers, including LT Branson of the 911th Engineer Company, along with members of the Fairfax County CERT - Terry and Sharon Akins, Jack and Susy Ledgerwood, Patty Greek, Kevin Mullins, John Curl, and Andrew Levy (Fairfax County Citizen Corps Council Chairman).

A special thanks to LT Branson and the 911th Engineer Company for getting us involved with these exercises. The 911th is best know for its response to the attack on the Pentagon. These guys are some of the best of the best!

The following are some of local, State and federal agencies who participated in Capital Shield exercises:

Department of Defense
Joint Force Headquarters-National Capital Region
U. S. Army Military
District of Washington Naval District Washington
Air Force-National Capital Region
Marine Corps
NCR Command National Guard (DC, MD, VA, WVa)
Pentagon Force Protection Agency

District of Columbia
DC Emergency Management Agency
DC Metropolitan Police Department
DC Fire / Emergency Medical Service
DC Housing Authority
DC Department of Health
DC Department of Transportation

Virginia
VA Department of Emergency Management
Arlington County Office of Emergency Management
Arlington County Fire Department
Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management
Fairfax Fire Department
Prince William County Fire Department
Arlington Fire Department

Maryland
Maryland Emergency Management Agency
Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management
Montgomery County Fire Department

Federal
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Coast Guard
Federal Protective Service
U.S. Park Police
Federal Emergency Management Agency Region III
U. S. Capital Police
Department of Health and Human Servicse
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms

Citizen Corps Focus: What is CERT?

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Additional information on Fairfax County CERT is available on the Fairfax County Citizen Corps - CERT website.

Want to learn more about CERT, take some time to watch this CERT video.

Also visit the Fairfax County CERT blog.