Memorial Day ParadeOn May 28th, 28 CERT Team Members, led by Deployment Captain Paul Lourd and John Ragazzini,

assisted Wilton PD with the town's Memorial Day Parade.   As in past years, we focused on pedestrian

safety and traffic control creating detours through Wilton Center and up Ridgefield Road (Rt 33) all the

way to Middlebrook Lane.   The team logged over 115 hours for the event including preplanning, event

set-up, take down and the parade deployment.  

Quarterly Meeting  - Pg 2

On April 23rd, we held our 2nd

Quarter Meeting. The team

renewed their oath (now good for 2

years!) and participated in training

activities regarding Incident

Command Systems (ICS), "Stop the

Bleed" and "Hands Only CPR".

Deployments and

Equipment  - Pg 4-5

In addition to the Memorial Day

parade, there were 3 MVAs in May

and 1 in June and additional

signage deployments that the team

assisted with in Q2. 

Training Recap and

Opportunities -  Pg 5-7

Stop the Bleed and Hands Only

CPR

State EPPI Drill  

Family Assistence Center 101

Newest UTV Driver!

Message from Wilton's Emergency                                             CERT in the Community    Page 3         

            Management Director                Page 2                             Kudos & Thanks                   Page 5

Member Spotlight                                   Page 3                             Calendar of Events            Page 8             

                             

     PAGE 1

Wilton CERT JUNE 2018

ISSUE 2

Quarterly Newsletter

FROM THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR

During that time, the inventory ofassets under the administration ofWilton CERT has increaseddramatically. More importantly, theTeam’s responsibilities and scope ofservices have continued to steadilyincrease. Your management teamand many of your members havecontinually risen to the challengesassociated with those changes.

Not that many years ago, WiltonCERT was only utilized for a limitednumber of large events,periodic emergency activations andinfrequent sheltering operations. Today the role and stature of yourTeam has risen to the level where itis a valued member of emergencymanagement in Wilton.

I also have the privilege of servingas the Chair of the Citizen CorpsCouncil, which oversees the 99CERT Teams and Medical ReserveCorps Units in Connecticut.  In thatrole, I have the opportunity to seehow our Team compares to theothers throughout Connecticut.  As you may already know, Wilton CERTis regarded as one of the top Teams 

in the state and also had the highestnumber of emergency activations in2017.

One of the goals of the CitizenCorps Council for the coming yearis the identification of bestpractices and working with Teamsexperiencing low activity and/ormembership retention issues. Beingwidely regarded as a model forother CERT Teams to follow comeswith a responsibility to not only setthe bar a bit higher for ourselves,but also mentor and/or provideassistance to help other Teamsreach their potential.   As such,Wilton CERT will be involved in thatprocess and some of you may beasked to contribute to that effort. In closing, I would like to thankeach of you for your dedication andcommitment.  In addition, I want toreiterate that I am privileged to beassociated with Wilton CERT andproud of the Team’saccomplishments in recent years.Please keep up the good work as theTeam further evolves and weembark on an even more expandedrole.

As you may know the Town’sEmergency Management Director has oversight responsibility for theCERT Team.  In that role, I haveinteracted with your managementgroup on a daily basis for a numberof years.  Over the years, I have seena dramatic increase in role andresponsibilities of the Team.  

...I AM PRIVILEGED TO BE

ASSOCIATED WITH WILTON

CERT AND PROUD OF THE

TEAM'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS...

- Mark D. Amatrudo Wilton's Emergency

Management Director

Our April Meeting featured Emergency Management Director Mark Amatrudo along with Wilton CERT and WVAC Member Brian McDermott leading 2 training sessions for the team.  

EMD Amatrudo shared statewide CERT statistics including the fact that Wilton CERT members accounted for just under 2000 hours of Connecticut’s 51000 CERT hours in 2017 And ranked #7 of the 74 Connecticut CERT’s. Ranking #1 for Region 1 activations! With 84 members that is an average of 23 hours per member.

 Great Job Wilton CERT! 

APRILMEETINGRECAP

This was just one of the topics covered in April’s Second Quarter Meeting.

EMD Amatrudo also provided refresher training on ICS where we were reminded that Safety's first and we learned that for just about everything "There’s a Form for that! Accuracy and improvement is our documentation and paperwork will  be a growing focus as we keep 

 track of more information for CERT going forward!

CERT Members renewed their Oath as well as Learned How to “Stop the Bleed” and “Hands Only CPR”.

Mark your Calendars for the September 17th Third Quarter Meeting. Hope to see you at a Deployment soon!

ISSUE 2                                   WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE  2

Photo Credit: Wilton Bulletin

EmergencyManagement DirectorMark Amatrudoadministers the bi-annual Oath to theWilton CERT Team

CERT Member andWVAC Vice PresidentBrian McDermottconducts "Stop theBleed" training,explaining why it'simportant for individualsin the community

ACCESS THE ICSPRESENTATION

HERE

Wilton CERT participated in the

Touch a Truck event on Saturday May

19th, 2018 held at Middlebrook

School. The annual event is sponsored

by Children's Day School of Wilton.

Wilton CERT members Namita

Vadhera, John Ragazzini and T.G.

Rawlins braved the rain to show off

CERT truck C-38 and its emergency

and safety equipment.  We were

grouped with Wilton PD and WVAC

personnel who were also there

displaying their vehicles.

Many thanks to Namita, John and T.G.

for representing Wilton CERT.

INAUGURAL NEWSLETTER TEAM

Cindy Aileen Dave

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

ISSUE 2                                   WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE 3

Rich Hubli recruited a number of our CERT

members to volunteer at the Wilton Library

in late March.   The CERT members helped

remove all the unsold books from the

library's book cellar. Rich coordinated the

efforts.  Volunteers spent several hours of

packing heavy books into boxes.  CERT really

stepped up to help, even though it was not

an official activation.  Thanks for pitching

and helping the community in extra ways!

7 Year CERT Member, Social Media & Newsletter Editor,Deployment Captain & EOC Team Lead, Trainer

Activities outside of CERT? Board member at Trackside, Keepsfit through cycling, golf and running.  Backyard garden and lovesto travel the world.

Significant people in your life:  Dave Heiden (See below!) andmy 4 stepkids:  Jack (22) Recent Marist Grad, Ben (18) recentBunnell HS Grad, Will (14) avid lacrosse and Fortnite (video game)

player and Annie (12) who loves softball and is very artistic

Cindy Moser

6 Year CERT Member, Deployment Captain, Trainer and EOC, Commsand Resources Support, Newsletter Contributor

Profession: Taught High School prior to joining the Red Cross as theSr. Director of Emergency Services.  CERT helped me find my passionfor Emergency Management.   Favorite thing about CERT:  Working with a great group of peoplededicated to serving the community 

Most influential book: "One Second After", a real eye opener to

Individuals would you like to eat dinner with? Einstein, Feynman,

Galileo, Duane Johnson

3 Things in Go Kit:  Knife, Flashlight, Duct Tape

Dave Heiden

CERT IN THE COMMUNITY

2 Year CERT Member, Newsletter Team

Activities outside of CERT? Work and volunteer for Girl Scouts,

Boy Scouts, PTA, etc. I am a ham. Love to learn new things, takephotos, cook, craft.

Significant people in your life:  Caitrin '18 WHS Grad headed toWVU. Seamus - Life Scout, rising Junior at WHS. Wayne(husband) - Local Tow Truck driver. Cathay Sheehan (Mom)

chronic volunteer in Stamford,

Most influential book:  Charlotte's Web - fond memories ofparents reading to and with me

Something surprising about you:  I am a boy scout!

Aileen (Sheehan) Masone

Favorite blog/podcast/website/news:  Hidden Brain Podcast, NPR

What advice would you give new CERTS:  If you see something wecan do better or differently, speak up and pitch in.  We are alwayslooking for more help and good ideas!

Life's Soundtrack:  Life is a Highway (Tom Cochrane, Girls justWanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper),  Humble and Kind (Tim McGraw)

3 Things in Go Kit:  SNACKS!!!!, Flashlight and Clothes for differentweather.

Deployments

With 1 planned deployment, 5 unplanned

deployments and some maintenance and

inventory to keep on top of, our CERT team

had a busy 2nd Quarter this year.   We also

added to our equipment list in order to be

even better prepared for future incidents.

Memorial Day Parade

Our largest event of the quarter, and

typically 3rd largest deployment of the year

was the Memorial Day parade.  Paul Lourd

and John Ragazzini led the team of 28

CERT members helping out and even more

in the parade with other organizations.  The

CERT team worked hand in hand with

Wilton PD to help close the roads, establish

and help drivers with detours and assist

with pedestrian safety throughout the

Center.  The always challenging Posts 5, 6

and 7 worked closely with PD to keep Rt

33/Ridgefield Road closed until the

ceremony at Hillside Cemetery was

concluded and all attendees had returned

safely to town.  CERT was also well

represented in the parade itself with our

(freshly washed) C-38 and the UTV proudly

on display.  

Unplanned Events

In addition to the planned event, we

responded after 3 motor vehicle accidents

in May on Scribner Hill, Olmsted Hill,

Cannon Road and to deploy signs for roads

being paved and closures after the May 15th

storms.   June was a quieter months with 1

callout to deploy signs after a car vs. pole

accident on Whipstick Road.  We averaged

9 CERTs per unplanned deployment during

the quarter, with 11 CERTs volunteering time

for Scribner Hill leading the way.  

ISSUE 2                               WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE 4

UNPLANNED DEPLOYMENTS

PLANNED DEPLOYMENTS

MANHOURS DEPLOYED

DAYS WITH DEPLOYMENTS

TOTAL CERTS DEPLOYED

Q2

DEPLOYMENTS 

   . ..BY THE       

           NUMBERS*169 hrs

8

1

6

36

*excludes training events

2nd Quarter

Equipment 

Updates

ISSUE 2                                   WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE 5

Send your "Kudos & Thanks",

both big and small, to

WiltonCERTNewsletter@gmail.com

JACK, JOHN, JOHN, PAUL AND PAUL

For washing C-38 and making it

SHINE for the Memorial Day Parade!

PAUL LOURD & JOHN

RAGAZZINIFor your leadership and organization of

the Memorial Day Parade.  Great Job!

KUDOS and

THANKS! To:

MEMORIAL DAY PARADE POSTS 5 & 6

For navigating tough Posts during the

Memorial Day Parade and with

excellent radio discipline as well!

Paul Lourd successfullycompleted UTV Driver

Training in June!

Congratulations

DAVE HEIDEN AND MIKE VINCELLI

For all your time and efforts when you

deployed after the May 15th storms in

Brookfield and surrounding towns. 

(Dave and Mike deployment with the

Regional All-Hazards Incident

Management Team (IMT) and the

American Red Cross.)

Equipment Servicing

T.G. and Pat Russo also took the Region 1

DEMHS Sheltering trailer to Norwalk for

inspection and a new set of tires.   All of the

DEMHS trailers in the region were serviced

in June so they should all be ready and

available if needed anywhere in the region

or state. 

Ricky (WFD Apparatus Supervisor) also

installed upgraded headlight bulbs in C-38

which will enhance our visibility in low

light.    

New Equipment

In preparation for future deployments, we

have additional equipment available.   Much

to Pat Russo's happiness, we have an

addition 25 traffic cones, 10 sign stands and

new detour, road closed and 1 lane ahead

signs.  

 

As a follow-up to our Stop the bleed

training, 2 tourniquet kits, one quick clot

with 2 packets are now in the side pocket of

the large first aid bag in C-38.   If you are not

familiar with the use of a tourniquet, please

contact Brian McDermott, Dave Heiden,

John Myers, Cindy Moser or Mike Vincelli for

training.

Mark Amatrudo purchased an MDT (mobile

data terminal) for C-38, similar to what is in

Wilton fire trucks and police cruisers. CERT

will be assigned an "Incident" by Dispatch

when deployed. Anyone with an MDT will be

able to see our location on the town map

along with information about the

deployment. This will enhance our safety

and operations. Much more on this when

the unit is functional.

  

In April, 9 Wilton CERTs joined fellow CERT and Medical Reserve Corpsmembers at a training event for Family Assistance Centers. In a massfatality event, a Family Assistance Center (FAC) provides support andservices to families of those killed, injured or otherwise impacted by theincident. If such an event does not involve a plane, train or pipeline; thetown or city in which the event occurred would be responsible to operate

the Family Assistance Center. This training is designed to provideparticipants an overview of FAC operations and the roles of volunteers.

F A M I L Y A S S I S T A N C E C E N T E R 1 0 1

BRIAN MCDERMOTTPlanning and leading the Stop the

Bleed and Hands Only CPR Training

TRAINING RECAPIn addition to Deputy Chief Amatrudo's NIMS and ICS training at the Quarterly Meeting, there were 2 additional training

events in the 2nd Quarter.  The first was also during the Quarterly meeting where CERT Team members Brian

McDermott, John Myers along with additional members of WVAC conducted Stop the Bleed and Hands Only CPR

training.   The 2nd event was  on June 20th, where members of the CERT EOC and Leadership teams participated in the

statewide Emergency Planning and Prepardness Initiative. 

Brian McDermott, conducted Stop the Bleed

training at the April Quarterly Meeting. Stop the

Bleed is a Homeland Security national awareness

campaign and call-to-action. It is intended to

cultivate grassroots efforts that encourage

bystanders to become trained, equipped, and

empowered to help in a bleeding emergency in the

8-10 minutes it typically takes before professional

help arrives. The program focuses on helping with

the recognition of life threatening bleeding, 

multiple ways to stop bleeding (direct pressure,

tourniquet, etc.) as well as the importance of

situational awareness and being there to provide

emotional support to victims. Multiple CERT

Members are Trained Trainers and can provide

training for anyone in the community. The course

can also be taken online at: 

 https://www.dhs.gov/stopthebleed

Approximately 20 CERT Members

participated in a Hand Only CPR

refresher training in April.   The training

included hands on practice in

responding to an unconscious victim

including instructing others to call 9-1-1,

use of an AED and doing CPR until help

arrives.  WVAC members were on hand to

provide instruction and guidance during

the training.   More information can be

found in the training links on page 7 for

those who could not attend.

Hands Only CPR

ISSUE 2                                  WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE 6

5 Members of the Wilton CERT leadership and EOC teams participated in the statewide

Emergency Preparedness and Planning Initiative (EPPI) on June 20th.  The drill requires

towns to open and staff their EOC which includes CERT in multiple roles.   This year's drill

centered around a fictional Hurricane Cora which brought statewide catastrophic flooding,

infrastructure damage and power loss for over 4 weeks.  During the incident, multiple cyber

attacks also occurred further stressing communications and the response and recovery

operations locally and regionally.   Wilton's participation lasted from 8am - 2pm and in

addition to CERT, included members from Police, Fire, Public Works, Social Services, Health

Department, Parks and Grounds, WVAC, Information Services, HR, the Board of Education

and Eversource.

State EPPI Drill

The frequency of responders and emergency personnel being hit

roadside is increasing rapidly.  This 18 minute training video

provides the basic tools to understand Traffic Incident

Management (TIM) and how to work together on-scene, and

ultimately work together to clear the scene quickly and safely. The

aim of TIM is to reduce incident duration significantly, reduce

secondary collisions, and improve safety for all motorists who may

be driving near incidents.  

Manage to Survive: Traffic IncidentManagement

SUMMER SAFETY

ONLINE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

ISSUE 2                                   WILTON CERT NEWSLETTER                                  PAGE  7

FEMA Releases NIMS JobTitles/Position Qualifications and

Resource Typing Definitions

Hands Only CPRVideo

Summer Heat

June 1 - November 30th is Hurricane Season and while Connecticut hasbeen spared a direct hit from a major hurricane for many years, it's importantto understand how much damage they can create and how to prepare fordifferent intensities of storms. Below is the Saffir-Simpson scale which iscommonly used to describe hurricane strength. The "click here" link will takeyou to a video of the damage different storm intensities can cause

U N D E R S T A N D I N G T H E S A F F I R - S I M S P O N S C A L E F O R H U R R I C A N E W I N D D A M A G E

Hurricanes

Popular Songs to guidecompression rate

PREPARE TO PREVENT heat-related illness STAY HYDRATED: Drink before you are thirsty on hot summer days andbefore, during and after periods of exertion or being outdoors. WEAR LOOSE FITTING LIGHT COLORED CLOTHING: Dark clothingabsorbs the sun's heat and tight clothing can trap it close to the body. GO INDOORS: If your home isn't air conditioned, find an air-conditionedlocation like the library, a shopping mall or other community space whiletemperatures are at their peak. STAY in THE SHADE: If you are outside, stay in the shade and wear a hatto help protect your face from the sun. NEVER LEAVE A CHILD OR ANIMAL ALONE IN A VEHICLE: It onlytakes 10 minutes for the temperature to rise 20 degrees. This can bedeadly for even a quick run in to the store.

KNOW THE SIGNS and how to respond to heat-related illness HEAT CRAMPS Signs: Muscle pains or spasms in the stomach, arms, or legs Actions: Go to a cooler location. Remove excess clothing. Take sips of coolsports drinks with salt and sugar. Get medical help if cramps last more thanan hour. HEAT EXHAUSTION Signs: Heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness,dizziness, headache, nausea or vomiting, or fainting Actions: Go to an air-conditioned place and lie down. Loosen or removeclothing. Take a cool bath. Take sips of cool sports drinks with salt andsugar. Get medical help if symptoms get worse or last more than an hour. HEAT STROKE Signs: Extremely high body temperature (above 103 degrees) taken orally;red, hot, and dry skin with no sweat; rapid, strong pulse; dizziness;confusion; or unconsciousness Actions: Call 911 or get the person to a hospital immediately. Cool downwith whatever methods are available until medical help arrives.

H E A T R E L A T E D D E A T H S A R E T H E # 1 K I L L E R D U R I N G T H E S U M M E R T I M E

For more information www.ready.gov/hurricanes www.ready.gov/heat

www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.html www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/pets.html

CALENDAR OF EVENTSCALENDAR OF EVENTS

Quarterly Meetings* Monday September 17th TBD

Monday December 3rd TBD

2019 Dates and Times TBD*Dates/Times Subject to Change

Additional Training

Newsletter Contributors

DRIVERS WANTED!

UTV and/or Truck Driver Training

-Contact T.G. Rawlins if interested

EOC Team and WebEOC Training

-Contact Cindy Moser if interested

Watch for emails on additional

opportunities during the year

Seeking additional article writers to

help keep the content fresh and

interesting. Only 30-60 minutes per

Quarter!

-Contact Cindy Moser if interested

2018 Planned Deployments

4th of July Celebration

Wed July 4th (Shifts 12:00-10:30pm)

Contact Jack Majesky

Wilton Street Fair Saturday July 21st (Shifts: 6am-5pm)

Contact Pat Russo

CT United Ride (Motorcycle Ride) Sunday Sept 9th (Approx 8am-12pm)

Circle of Care 5K Race

Sunday Sept 20th (TBD/Morning)

FCIAC X-Country Meet (New Canaan) October TBD (Afternoon Shifts)

Halloween in Wilton Center October 27th (Time: TBD)

Stamford Balloon Parade

Sunday Nov 18th (Time: TBD)

Mark your Calendar!!

Ready.gov www.ready.gov

FEMA APP for iPhone and Android

You can also download the app via text messaging:

• If you have an Apple device: Text APPLE to 43362 (4FEMA)

• If you have an Android device: Text ANDROID to 43362 (4FEMA)

Wilton CERT Website, Facebook and Twitter http://www.wiltoncert.org/

https://www.facebook.com/wiltoncert/

https://twitter.com/Wilton_CERT

UsefulLinks

Please send newsletter ideas, photos and submissions to: wiltoncertnewsletter@gmail.com

Wilton CERT

Newsletter

Wilton, CT 06897

Issue 2

                               PAGE 8