Emergency Preparedness

If Seminole Estates experiences a serious disaster, such as a major earthquake, in which many of our homes receive significant damage, then the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be activated.

CERT is composed of a number of your Seminole Estates neighbors who have been trained to help in such situations. CERT will attempt to organize Seminole residents, who are willing and able, to provide help for their neighbors until professional emergency responders can arrive.

If such a serious disaster occurs, it is recommended that as many people as are able to meet at a pre-designated place. There we can attempt to account for everyone and can organize to provide help for those needing it. The Seminole Estates Manager and CERT have agreed upon the following locations as meeting places:

First Priority: Seminole Estates Clubhouse — Our first choice meeting place
Second Priority: The grass area below (south of) the swimming pool — To be used if Clubhouse is NOT usable
Third Priority: Seminole Estates RV Storage Area — To be used if above areas are not usable

In case of emergency, there is a generator at the clubhouse and there is a fireplace. SERA Board, emergency responders and park management and maintenance persons know how to operate the generator.

Residents are urged to have emergency supplies of food, water and medication, and other recommended essentials on hand. Emergency preparedness flyers are available and meetings to help residents plan for disaster preparedness are held periodically.

Beaverton CERT

Beaverton CERT is about readiness, people helping people, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. CERT is an initiative and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens will be initially on their own and their actions can make a difference. Through CERT basic training, citizens can organize themselves and use spontaneous volunteers to manage utilities, put out small fires, provide basic medical first aid, and search for and rescue victims calmly, safely, and efficiently.

The 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.

Following a major disaster, first responders who provide police, fire, and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors such as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment's notice through 9-1-1. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life-saving and life-sustaining needs. For this reason, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) was developed.

CERT members give critical support to first responders in emergencies, provide immediate assistance to victims, organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.

Beaverton CERT is composed of seven neighborhood CERT teams. The Gray Team includes only Seminole Estates. This CERT team is call Gray because of their hair.

The Gray Team is the smallest group in Beaverton CERT. The members are the oldest as well. They do some things better than much larger groups because of the Color Groups and their phone tree network for notifying Residents within minutes of an emergency. Seminole Estates is a close-knit group that knows and cares for their neighbors. At Monday Morning Coffee, any Residents needing assistance are discussed. Seminole Estates is an enclosed compound that could be an advantage during an emergency.