NEIGHBORHOOD RESPONSE GROUPS OF CENTRAL MARIN APRIL 2020

www.nrgmarin.org

NRG LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS

§ NEW NRG COORDINATOR: Rachel was hoping to meet many of you at the Leaders’ Meeting on March
10th, but unfortunately the meeting had to be cancelled because of COVID-19, as has the March 31st
Education Event. Until the NRGs are able to resume normal operations a message from our new
Coordinator will have to suffice.

Thank you for the warm welcome. Fortunately, I had the opportunity prior to our
shelter-in-place situation to meet a few community members and to see firsthand
Mariner Cove’s spring drill. Although we are now sequestered in our homes, the work
of the NRG program will continue. We are working on developing new NRGs by
prioritizing areas that need an NRG and identifying community members who would
like to take a more active role in the community. We are also enhancing our
communication tools. I am so impressed with the professionalism, organization and
coordination of the NRG Program.

A little about me: I live in San Rafael with my husband Loren and I have two sons Nathan (21) who attends
Northeastern in Boston and Ryan (18) who is a senior at Terra Linda High School and will be attending
the University of Colorado in Boulder in the Fall. I am passionate about serving our community. I am a
trustee on the San Rafael School Board, a board member of the Osher Marin JCC and president of my
neighborhood association. Professionally, I am an operations program manager who loves to work on
projects that intertwine finance, technology and people. In my free time I hike, spend time in the wine
country and play with my two Golden Retrievers.

Please contact me at coordinator@nrgmarin.org if you have any questions, concerns or issues you would
like the NRG to address. Although we are all focused on COVID-19, we recognize that fire season is right
around the corner and of course we always need to be prepared for the next earthquake.

§ MARCH 8th DRILL DEBRIEFING: Rachel surveyed the Leaders after the drill and the responses received
are posted to the website under “Drills”: https://www.nrgmarin.org/drills.html

§ TRAINING: All training sessions have been suspended until further notice. Trainings and other events will
hopefully resume by May. Please check the website Training & Events Calendar for updates:
https://www.nrgmarin.org/training--events-calendar.html. The following training sessions are currently
scheduled:

Radio Workshops: Dates pending.

Presented by Skip Fedanzo, Rob Ireson, Ann Shores and Brian Cooley
RSVP | registration instructions will be posted to the website as soon as the date is confirmed.
Location: Community Room, Central Marin Police Station, 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur.
Time: 7:00 – 9:00 PM

FADR Classes: May date pending. June 13, August 15, and October 10
RSVP | registration instructions can be found on the website.
Location: Kreps Lounge at Redwood High School, 395 Doherty Drive, Larkspur
Time: 9:00 AM to 12:45 PM

Central Marin NRG Advisory Committee

Anita Bock, Chair, Suzi Beatie, John Chuharski, Amy Glenn, John Howard, Lee Howard, John Lister, Peter
Mazonas, Robin Moller, Becky Reed, Laurie Rice, Terry Sternberg, Dale Wheeler
 New Training Under Development: In response to feedback received after both the November 2019 and
March 2020 drills, planning is underway in partnership with Marin CERT to develop a new training module
titled “Effective CERT | NRG Coordination and Communication”. The training will include table top
exercises with scenarios and exercises, step-by-step direction and small-group practice sessions. The
training will be designed to address the fact that many NRGs are unfamiliar with how their Incident
Command should coordinate and communicate effectively with CERT Command, and how to self-activate
and manage NRG|CERT teams. Stay tuned for more information. If you would like to participate in the
planning of this workshop, please contact Rachel at coordinator@nrgmarin.org or Skip Fedanzo of CERT
at drferret@comcast.net

§ NRG INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE: Please check your NRG’s listing on the website and provide
us with the necessary information if it needs updating. We would like to reflect, at the very least, the
following information for each NRG: name, date formed, brief description of area covered, size, key
contacts, and NRG map (if one is available) : https://www.nrgmarin.org/nrgs-in-central-marin.html.

§ MARCH 31st EDUCATION EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED: 2020 Disaster Preparedness Updates -
Panel Discussion. A new date will be selected once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Corte Madera
Community Center: 6:30 PM social gathering - program starts at 7:00 PM and ends at 9:00 PM.

§ MARINMAPS NRG PROJECT: As soon as all the NRGs submit the necessary data, MarinMap will create
an online color-coded map of all of our NRGs. If you have not already done so, please respond promptly
to Rachel’s request: NRG Mapping Request: Please use this form to submit your NRG's address file (in
Excel or .csv format - not .pdf). Even if you provided this information last year, if it is not in the required
format please re-submit the information in the specific format described in the form. Since all of this
information will be combined into one file for the MarinMap team to process, it is important to follow the
directions and provide the information exactly as requested. Thank you!

§ RADIO INVENTORY: Please use the following link to provide information about your current radio
inventory and radio needs. We would like to identify if there is a need to upgrade and augment your
equipment: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScwM5bBN6TSj6UZLkN62wUGu1GCDp0fxt7f31-
JmfKQpSUksQ/viewform

§ IMPORTANT RADIO USE BEST PRACTICES: In the wake of the March 8th drill, Skip Fedanzo of Marin
CERT asks that we please be reminded of the attached important NRG | CERT communications and radio
best practices.
THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!

A FEW IMPORTANT COVID-19 INFORMATION QUICK LINKS

Visit the official Marin County Coronavirus webpage (MarinHHS.org/coronavirus) to review answers to frequently
asked questions, access guidance for special groups and subscribe for email updates. To view past status updates
concerning COVID-19 activity in Marin County, click on the resources tab on the Coronavirus webpage.
Marin County Public Health: https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org. To see a breakdown of confirmed cases by age
or gender, visit Marin HHS’s data website.
Marin County Services: https://www.marincounty.org/main/service-adjustments-during-covid19
City of San Rafael Website: https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/coronavirus/
Coronavirus Transportation Impacts: https://511.org/alerts/emergencies/coronavirus
Volunteer Information: https://californiavolunteers.ca.gov/get-involved/covid-19/
Utilities | No disconnections: PG&E will not disconnect any customer’s power for nonpayment during this health
crisis. PG&E announced a moratorium on service disconnections for non-payment, effective immediately for both
residential and commercial customers. Customers should assume any threat related to a disruption in service for
non-payment is a scam. PG&E will never ask for personal information or a credit card number over the
phone. Anyone who has received such a call can report it immediately by calling PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 or
visit www.pge.com/scams.

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NEIGHBORHOOD RESPONSE GROUPS OF CENTRAL MARIN APRIL 2020
www.nrgmarin.org

03/27/2020

Guidelines for NRG Communications with CERT & Radio Best Practices

Throughout Central Marin NRG Command Teams share a common GMRS radio channel to
communicate with Central Marin CERT. This means the 40+ NRG radio operators need to coordinate
and work well together so that everyone’s messages get through. The following are basic directions for
enabling effective and efficient use of the shared radio resource. But first this definition:
“EMERGENCY” means someone will likely die within an hour or two if professional help is not
available to treat them.

CERT distinguishes between the health status of an injured person (Immediate, Delayed, Minor, Dead)
and the message priority (Emergency, Priority, Routine). CERT defines “Immediate” as: “The survivor
has life-threatening injuries (airway, bleeding, or shock) that demand immediate attention to save his or
her life; rapid, lifesaving treatment is urgent.” Inevitably the decision will be somewhat subjective.

In General:
NRGs must notify CERT when they activate to report their location or shut down.
NRG Command must triage reported issues before giving them to their radio operator.
Write down all messages before trying to send them.
Count and categorize injuries as:
Immediate: an injury that is or soon will be an emergency;
Delayed: a serious injury, like a broken arm/leg, but not immediately life-threatening;
Minor: cuts, sprains, abrasions, etc.
Report only the number of injured or dead in each category.

1. Do not give details/symptoms of injuries unless CERT asks for them.

2. Listen for at least 10-15 seconds to determine whether there is a conversation already in
progress before calling CERT. You may need to call more than once before you are
acknowledged.
3. Wait for CERT to acknowledge you before saying anything else because they may not have
heard you or are busy. Always wait a few seconds after pressing the PTT button before you
start speaking.
4. If CERT does not acknowledge you after three calls, listen to hear which other NRG you can
hear talking with CERT. Ask that station to relay your message.
5. If you are relaying a message, write down who it is from, who it goes to, and what the message
is. Then proceed from step #1 above.
6. If the radio isn’t working, check your settings and battery. If that fails, use another radio or
attempt to contact another NRG to relay your message to CERT, or use runners.

Handling Emergencies:
If you have an emergency to report, break into any non-emergency conversation by saying
“Emergency, Emergency” – do not wait!
If CERT does not acknowledge you after three calls, listen to hear if another NRG can be heard
talking with CERT; if so, break in and ask that station to relay your message. Make sure they
know yours is an Emergency message.

Top Priorities:
Immediate threat to life, i.e., emergency situations; broken bones are not usually life-
threatening, but serious head injuries or uncontrolled bleeding may be.
Major fires, i.e., fires which you cannot extinguish with a hose and that are spreading.
Major gas leaks, i.e., leaks you cannot shut off at a gas main.
Any other immediate threat to life or property.

Prepared by Central Marin CERT

Central Marin NRG Advisory Committee

Anita Bock, Chair, Suzi Beatie, John Chuharski, Amy Glenn, John Howard, Lee Howard, John Lister, Peter
Mazonas, Robin Moller, Becky Reed, Laurie Rice, Terry Sternberg, Dale Wheeler