As a citizen responder, your training and practice make you a force multiplier for good!
In this issue:
- Fall Drill Update
- Our Quarterly Activity Calendar
- Skill Refresher: Search & Rescue Checklist
- A New Realistic Radio Exercise
- Radio Power
- Listos In The Community
- Survey Results
Comments? Drop us a line anytime: sffdnertnewsletter at gmail.com
Drill with us at historic Crane Cove Park!
Image courtesy of SF Port.
Join neighbors in growing your skills!
Calling all Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) members! Get ready for an exciting drill that’s just around the corner. On Saturday, October 18th, 2025, at 8:00 AM, we’ll be holding our latest NERT drill at a new to NERT location: Crane Cove Park!
This is a huge deal, as it’s our very first time conducting a drill at Crane Cove Park. This means new challenges, new scenarios, and a fresh perspective on how we can best serve our community in times of need. Imagine the possibilities for realistic training in a unique environment – from open spaces to potential “damaged” structures, Crane Cove Park offers a perfect backdrop for honing our skills. We’ll be focusing on a variety of emergency response techniques, and the change of scenery will undoubtedly make for a dynamic and engaging experience.
We’re going to have a radio activity during this drill, so make sure your batteries are charged and you have the current NERT Band Plan.
And speaking of being prepared, don’t forget your deployment bag! This is a crucial part of any NERT member’s toolkit. Make sure it’s packed for an actual deployment, with all your essentials – water, snacks, a clipboard, gas valve wrench, and anything else you might need for a few hours of realistic training.
38% of NERTs got to/from our Spring Drill on public transit! For those of you planning to use public transit, getting to Crane Cove Park on a Saturday morning is quite convenient. Within a few blocks walk, Crane Cove Park is accessible via the T, the T-bus, plus the 15 and 22. Be sure to check the latest Muni schedule closer to the date for the most accurate and up-to-date travel information. Plan to leave early to arrive by 8 AM!
83% of NERTs surveyed about our spring drill rated it a nine or ten on a ten-point scale!
Spring 2025 Drill After Action Survey
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to grow your NERT skills in a beautiful outdoor setting, on San Francisco’s waterfront. Let’s keep that energy going and make this Crane Cove Park drill our best one yet! See you there, ready to train and make a difference!
(Trouble accessing the registration system, please contact the NERT office at sffdnert at sfgov.org )
SKILLS REFRESHER:
Search & Rescue Size-up Checklist
When dispatched as a field team for a search and rescue operation, NERTs must review this worksheet to plan and continually monitor the situation. This checklist is taken from the NERT manual and has been updated for easy printing. Please print a copy of this PDF and keep it on your clipboard in your deployment bag.
If it’s not written down, it didn’t happen! As your team discusses the prompts and plans the operation, record all of the answers on your team’s unit log.
NERT Radio Teams Practice in the Mission
A brand new training exercise has participants saying they strongly agree they are better prepared because of this training!
BY THE NUMBERS
129 Messagers passed
90 Minuite training exercise
25 Radio operators participated
10 Field teams deployed
5 Net control operators
This past August, NERT radio operators participated in a neighborhood exercise to hone their radio operations skills. This event came to fruition through the generous collaboration of the SFFD NERT Program Office and the 2MCM (2 Meter Critical Mass).
The 2MCM is a monthly meetup/radio practice that takes place on the second Saturday of the month at Spreckels Lake and is open to all licensed amateur radio operators.
For the August event, 20 radio operators, assigned in teams of two, were dispatched throughout the Mission and filed reports over the air to a centralized network control staffed by five radio operators on rotation.
Operators practiced map reading, mission execution, and message passing. These basic radio skills are fundamental to the needs of a NERT deployment and will be valuable to the neighborhoods where they are deployed.
The feedback from the exercise was overwhelmingly positive and constructive, with many participants requesting a repeat of the event in the future.
For more details about the 2 Meter Critical Mass, contact: [email protected]
Radio Waves
Battery Power: Two is one; one is none
An amateur radio is a key disaster response tool because it will help field teams, staging areas, and battalion stations communicate quickly and efficiently. But radios are electronic devices which require power to operate, so without a charged battery, your radio won’t work; you’ll have to send messages by two runners. Having one charged battery will only allow you to use your radio for a very limited amount of time.
With a second battery, you have a backup or an alternative to use while the primary one is recharging. Many radios also have an optional battery pack which can use AA-size batteries, so you can continuously swap out alkaline or, better yet, swap in rechargeable AA batteries. Having two batteries provides you with insurance against one battery becoming no battery.
NERT’s Listos Update
Out in the community
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 136,000 San Franciscans who identify as Hispanic or Latino. Because of this, in 2014, then-NERT Program Coordinator Erica Arteseros (Brown) learned of a disaster preparedness program specifically designed to reach the Spanish speaking community and contacted the program creator about adopting the program for San Francisco, through the San Francisco Fire Department NERT Program.
Created in 2009, the LISTOS Program is an Emergency Awareness and Disaster Preparedness program. The core of the LISTOS design is based on building sustainable community relationships in a cultural environment.
The LISTOS program is comprised of a series of discussions which teach the basic ideas of preparedness in one class. It empowers participants to share their knowledge with their community, it considers cultural sensitivities and time constraints, and it utilizes an interactive discussion learning environment for the whole family.
LISTOS collaborates with many city agencies, including the Department of Emergency Management.
Ret. Lieutenant Angie Romero, San Francisco Fire Department, was selected by Chief Erica Arteseros-Brown and returned from retirement to be the LISTOS Coordinator in August 2024.
Lt. Angie Romero has a cadre of 6 San Francisco Fire Department firefighters and 3 students from the San Francisco City College Fire Science Program.
The curriculum consists of identifying potential emergencies and disasters, the importance of document back-up, utilities shut-off, fire extinguisher use, basic first aid, home organization, and emotional support.
The San Francisco Fire Department NERT – LISTOS Program is not to be confused with LISTOS California. Information on the LISTOS Program can be found on the NERT Website or contact the NERT Office at (415)970-2022. Information is in English and Spanish.
Drill Survey Report Out
Continually improving
The SFFD NERT Program Office is always working to improve the educational experience for NERTs and a key tool the office uses to measure the effectiveness and engagement different activities provide for team members are After Action Surveys. Here are results from the Spring Drill:
What neighborhoods participated?
Was this your first drill?
How did you prepare for the drill?
Exercise ratings
Extended exercises (90 min)
(Plus was the longer amount of time appropriate?)
Agree or disagree
What are NERTs saying?
Key points
- Over 120 NERTs participated
- Highest overall survey scores ever
- The community performed over 340 hours of community engagement
- We know the details of operating a staging are an area we want to provide more training
When you have an opportunity to complete a survey after a meeting or training exercise, please do! This feedback helps the program deliver engaging content.
NERT Quarterly Calendar
We’ve added FEMA self-study classes to this set of calendars. We’ve done so because many organizations, such as NERT, the Auxiliary Communication Service, hospitals, and the IT Disaster Response Team, require their members and employees to take these classes. Grow your skills and become a better-prepared NERT.
As more events are published throughout the quarter, we’ll update this to inform you of those events.
OCTOBER
All-month self-study: FEMA – Introduction to Community Emergency Response Team IS-317 ‡
11: 2 Meter Critical Mass Radio Practice*
16: The Great ShakeOut – Join millions of others worldwide, learn more here
18: Citywide Drill – Register now via NERT APP
21 & 28: ‼️ NERT Recertification @ St. Francis’ Episcopal Church – Register now via NERT APP
23: ‼️📣 SF Ready Workshop – Register now via NERT APEX
NOVEMBER
All-month self-study: FEMA – An Introduction to the National Incident Management System IS-700 ‡
5: Cole Valley, Haight-Ashbury, NOPA neighborhood meeting, 6:30 PM at Paige St. Library. Open to all current NERTs
5 & 12: ‼️ NERT Recertification @ 2310 Folsom St – Register now via NERT APP https://sffdapps.nertmember.sfgov.org/
8: 2 Meter Critical Mass Radio Practice*
10: ‼️📣 NERT Full Training Click HERE to learn more (MON PM) Tell your friends and neighbors! 📣 https://sffdapps.nertmember.sfgov.org/
15: NERT DAY@DOT – Disaster First Aid
DECEMBER
All-month self-study: FEMA – Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response ICS-200 ‡
3: Cole Valley, Haight-Ashbury, NOPA neighborhood meeting, 6:30 PM at Paige St. Library. Open to all current NERTs
8 & 15: ‼️ NERT Recertification @ 2310 Folsom St – Register now via NERT APP https://sffdapps.nertmember.sfgov.org/
13: 2 Meter Critical Mass Radio Practice*
20: NERT DAY@DOT – Christmas tree fire demonstration Register now via NERT APP https://sffdapps.nertmember.sfgov.org/
JANUARY
All-month self-study: FEMA – National Response Framework, An Introduction ICS-800 ‡
7: Cole Valley, Haight-Ashbury, NOPA neighborhood meeting, 6:30 PM at Paige St. Library. Open to all current NERTs
8: ‼️📣 NERT Full Training Click HERE to learn more (MON PM) Tell your friends and neighbors! 📣
10: 2 Meter Critical Mass Radio Practice*
17: NERT DAY@DOT – Ham Cram by Bay Area Educational Amateur Radio Society (BEARS) & another NERT activity. Learn more and register at the BEARS website. https://www.baears.com
Are you a neighborhood coordinator who would like to list your meetings here? Please send details to sffdnertnewsletter AT gmail.com and we will list them here.
‡ This class is not instructed by NERT; rather, it is an online-only curriculum provided by FEMA. Upon completing the class, you will receive a digital certificate of completion from FEMA.
* Please note that some events are unaffiliated with the NERT Program. The NERT program is not responsible for its content.
Vest Fodder
New San Francisco Ordinance
San Francisco has seen a dramatic increase in fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in recent years. These fires can be particularly devastating due to the chemical hazards that make up the batteries, their tendency to flashover and grow quickly in size, and the difficulty of extinguishing them. Learn more about the ordinance and make your house safer here.
MyShake
If you have not yet, please install the MyShake app on your smartphone to help get timely earthquake early warnings.
Apple/iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myshake/id1467058529
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.bsl.myshake
NERT Slack Channel
Besides our newsletter, the NERT Slack Channel is another way to stay in touch. While not a replacement for Regroup, it does offer messaging and communications for NERT members. To subscribe on Slack, drop an email to: sffdnertnewsletter at gmail.com, and we’ll send you a link. Please use a real name, no nicknames or handles.
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The Disaster Dispatch is usually published quarterly in January, April, July, and October.
Credits
AI has assisted in various parts of story creation and editing.
AI-generated images by Adobe Firefly, Google Gemini.
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The Disaster Dispatch is a publication of the SFFD NERT Program. All Rights Reserved.
