Predisaster integration of Community Emergency Response Teams

Authors

  • Jessica Jensen, PhD
  • John Carr, MS

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2015.0215

Keywords:

disaster volunteers, spontaneous volunteerism, voluntary sector, preparedness, disaster response, community response, citizen preparedness programs, Community Emergency Response Team

Abstract

Objective: The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has been increasingly used within local emergency management systems since the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) adopted and began promoting the program in 1993. The objective of this study was to explore the integration of CERT programs within local emergency management systems predisaster.

Design: Qualitative, semi-structured telephone interviews were used to collect data from a purposive sample of CERT program coordinators.

Setting: Telephone interviews were conducted with CERT program coordinators in FEMA Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska).

Subjects, participants: Twenty-five local county emergency managers participated in this study.

Results: This study found that the integration of CERTs varied significantly. The extent to which most teams were integrated allowed them to be placed along an integration continuum and classified as one of three types including Least Integrated, Somewhat Integrated, and Highly Integrated. Other team characteristics seemed to covary with the team integration. A phenomenon of team Piggy Backing—where the integration of the team was no longer relevant—was also found.

Conclusions: This study concludes by making a key recommendation that could benefit any CERT—add a module to the CERT training curriculum designed to integrate the individuals associated with the CERT program within their local emergency management system.

Author Biographies

Jessica Jensen, PhD

Department of Emergency Management, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.

 

John Carr, MS

Department of Emergency Management, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota.

 

References

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Community Emergency Response Teams. October 2013. Available at https://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Flint C, Brennan M: Community Emergency Response Teams: From disaster responders to community builders. Rural Real. 2006; 1(3): 1-9.

Flint C, Stevenson J: Building community disaster preparedness with volunteers: Community Emergency Response Teams in Illinois. Nat Hazards Rev. 2010; 11(3): 118-124.

National CERT Program: Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Train-the-Trainer Course g428 Instructor Guide. November 2011. Available at https://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=6151. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Simpson D: Community emergency response training (CERTS): A recent history and review. Nat Hazards Rev. 2001; 2(2): 54-63.

US Office of Civilian Defense: A Civilian Defense Volunteer Office: An Official Arm of the Local Defense Council. Washington, DC: US Office of Civilian Defense, 1943: 1-28.

Ready: About Citizen Corps. August 2013. Available at http://www.ready.gov/about-citizen-corps. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Citizen Corps: Community Emergency Response Teams Map. November 2013. Available at https://www.citizencorps.fema.gov/cc/CommunityEmergencyResponseTeams.pdf. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: About Community Emergency Response Team. October 2012. Available at https://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams/about-communityemergency-response-team. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Carr J, Jensen J: Explaining the pre-disaster integration of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). Nat Hazard. (in press).

Federal Emergency Management Agency: CERT in Action!October 2012. Available at http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams/cert-action. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Auf der Heide E: Disaster Response: Principles of Preparation and Coordination. St Louis, MO: C.V. Mosby Company, 1989.

Barton A: Communities in Disaster: A Sociological Analysis of Collective Stress Situations. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1970.

Drabek T, McEntire D: Emergent phenomena and multiorganizational coordination in disasters: Lessons from the research literature. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2002; 20(2): 197-224.

Drabek T, McEntire D: Emergent phenomena and the sociology of disaster: Lessons, trends and opportunities from the research literature. Disaster Prev Manage. 2003; 12(2): 97-112.

Dynes R: Community emergency planning: False assumptions and inappropriate analogies. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1994; 12(2): 141-158.

Fritz C: Disasters and Mental Health: Therapeutic Principles Drawn from Disaster Studies. DRC Historical and Comparative Disaster Series, #10. Newark, DE: Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, 1996.

Mileti D: Catastrophe planning and the grass roots: A lesson to the U.S.A. from the U.S.S.R. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1989; 7(1): 57-67.

Stallings R, Quarantelli E: Emergent citizen groups and emergency management. Public Adm Rev. 1985; 45(Special Issue): 93-100.

Dynes R, Quarantelli E: Helping behavior in large scale disasters. In Smith D, Macauley J (eds.): Participation in Social and Political Activities. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1980: 339-354.

Fischer H: Response to Disaster: Fact Versus Fiction & Its Interpretation: The Sociology of Disaster. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1998.

National Research Council: Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2006.

Quarantelli E: Research Findings on Organizational Behavior in Disaster and Their Applicability in Developing Countries. Preliminary paper #107. Newark, DE: Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, 1986.

Tierney K, Lindell M, Perry R: Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2001.

Fernandez L, Barbera J, van Dorp J: Spontaneous volunteer response to disasters: The benefits and consequences of good intentions. J Emerg Manage. 2006; 4(5): 57-68.

Kendra J, Wachtendorf T: Rebel Food. . .Renegade Supplies: Convergence After the World Trade Center Attack. Preliminary paper no. 316. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Disaster Research Center, 2001.

Kendra J, Wachtendorf T, Quarantelli E: The evacuation of Lower Manhattan by water transport on September 11: An unplanned success. Joint Comm J Qual Safety. 2003; 29(6): 316-318.

Perry R: Managing disaster response operations. In Drabek T, Hoetmer G (eds.): Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government. Washington, DC: ICMA, 1991: 201-223.

Stallings R: Disaster, crisis, collective stress, and mass deprivation. In Perry R, Quarantellii E (eds.): What is a Disaster: New Answers to Old Questions. Bloomington, IN: International Research Committee on Disasters, 2005: 237-274.

Barsky L, Trainor J, Torres M, et al.: Managing volunteers: FEMA's urban search and rescue program and interactions with unaffiliated responders in disaster response. Disasters. 2007; 31(4): 495-507.

Fernandez L, Barbera J, van Dorp J: Strategies for managing volunteers during incident response: A systems approach. Home Sec Aff. 2006; 2(3): 1-15.

Dynes R: Problems in emergency planning. Energy. 1983; 8: 653-660.

Gillespie D, Banerjee M: Prevention planning and disaster preparedness work in social work administration. J Appl Soc Sci. 1993; 17(2): 237-253.

Kartez J, Lindell M: Planning for uncertainty: The case of local disaster planning. J Am Plan Assoc. 1987; 53(4): 487-498.

Lindell M: Are local emergency planning committees effective in developing community disaster preparedness? Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 1994; 12(2): 159-182.

Daines G: Planning, training, and exercising. In Drabek T, Hoetmer G (eds.): Emergency Management: Principles and Practice for Local Government. Washington, DC: International City Management Association, 1991: 61-200.

Drabek T: Predicting disaster response effectiveness. Int J Mass Emerg Disasters. 2005; 21(1): 49-72.

Perry R: Disaster exercise outcomes for professional emergency personnel and citizen volunteers. J Cont Crisis Manag. 2004; 12(2): 64-75.

Peterson D, Perry R: The impacts of disaster exercises on participants. Disaster Prev Manage. 1999; 8(4): 241-254.

Franke M, Simpson D: Community Response to Hurricane Isabel: An Examination of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Organizations in Virginia. Informally published manuscript. Louisville, KY: Center for Hazards Research and Policy Development, University of Louisville, 2004.

Gonzalez M: Citizen Involvement in Disaster Management [master's thesis]. Monterey, CA: Naval Postgraduate School, 2005.

Rubin H, Rubin I: Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2005.

Citizen Corps: Directory of Community Emergency Response Team Programs by State. November 2013. Available at http://www.citizencorps.fema.gov/cc/CertIndex.do?submitByState. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Patton M: Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1990.

Federal Emergency Management Agency: Region vii: IA, KS, Mo, NE. November 2013. Available at https://www.fema.gov/regionvii-ia-ks-mo-ne-0. Accessed November 10, 2013.

Published

02/25/2016

How to Cite

Jensen, PhD, J., and J. Carr, MS. “Predisaster Integration of Community Emergency Response Teams”. Journal of Emergency Management, vol. 13, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 25-35, doi:10.5055/jem.2015.0215.