LETTER.

Chief Cosgrave‘s 11th Coronavirus Message 5/31/2020

Hello Coastsiders,

We are still under Shelter in Place orders but with permission to venture out to a wider array of destinations using our new public health & safety skills (face coverings and social distancing) to re-engage with activities, shops, and services outside of our homes. Our local economy needs us BUT we need to stay smart and stay well. With the opening of beaches to the public last weekend large numbers of people came over to the coast, which was a relief to some but of great concern to others. This week the Fire District had another uptick in vehicular accidents, medical calls, and fires on the coast.

Never expected there were so many cat people out there! Chip C. chimed in right away with the right answer. Then more answers came flooding in, almost all in the general neighborhood of correct. Thanks to everyone who ventured a guess to last week’s question: What unusual type of cat did Viking sailors prefer to bring aboard their ships? Bonus question: Why?

Answer to last week’s trivia question:

Polydactyl cats – meaning they have more toes than normal.
Norwegian Forest cats are more often polydactyl. The Vikings believed that their extra toes made them better at balancing at sea and at catching rodents.

To share some perspectives on what the Coronavirus experience has been like for locals, Coastside CERT hosted a Zoom panel discussion yesterday. It turned into a candid up close and personal storytelling session about how tricky the virus really is in terms of who gets it and how it affects those who are exposed. Panelists discuss the challenges and frustrations of having and recovering from a disease no one truly understands. We talk about the business and human toll on Main Street shop owners, a Moscone Center sports venue operator whose location has been converted into an emergency operations center, and a local portrait photographer – all of whom are also our neighbors. A HMBHS senior reflects on the spin COVID-19 has put on graduation and college plans and is honored for his community service to the Half Moon Bay Volunteer Fire Department. First responders share both their historical and absolutely immediate frontline experiences – brave and heartbreaking at the same time. There is the medical advisor who discusses how humbling it is for seasoned medical professionals to throw everything they’ve got at saving lives while no one is yet an expert on COVID-19.

You can see and hear the burdens each one bears but then (spoiler alert!) the simple lesson of the human spirit shines through: Resilience. They recover, pivot their businesses, education, and major life events, seek ways to help others in the midst of changing and confusing information, manage to not get sick despite constant exposure to COVID-19 because they don and doff their PPE correctly, and keep their senses of humor intact.

Thank you, panelists, for generously sharing your stories and teaching us through your firsthand experience:

Juan Sarabia HMBHS Senior, San Jose Fire Explorer (and future firefighter, we hope!)
Chad Fairbrother Coastside Volunteer Firefighter, Professional Airline Pilot
Natasha Bass Owner of Hometown Mercantile on Main St.
Audrey Seaton Owner of Small Town Sweets on Main St.
Shanti Minkstein Portrait Photographer
Paige Carroll Scott General Manager, Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center Moscone Center
Hide Maki Coastside Volunteer Firefighter turned Ambulance Paramedic, currently deployed on COVID-19 assignments around the State
Mike Jacobs Emergency Medical Services Advisor for Coastside and San Mateo County Fire medical training

Want to watch it for yourself? Well, just like during my first Zoom webinar about earthquake and tsunami science on the coast, I forgot to start recording at the beginning of this panel discussion, so with thanks to CERT Michele Dragony, who posted the whole presentation on her website, CoastsideBuzz.com, here is the link.

Many people have voiced their concerns to me about masks and face coverings so again I want to emphasize that the cloth coverings are there to protect others from your human plume or off-gassing (think of Pigpen in the Charlie Brown cartoons). If you see someone without a mask, your best defense is to increase your distance from them. This is most important in small confined places with poor air circulation.

Mask slackers are not new. Ours is not the first society to resist wearing masks during a pandemic. Mask-wearing rules faced resistance during the 1918 Pandemic, too. “Most people complied, but some resisted (or poked holes in their masks to smoke).” You can read more here.

Prepare, Recognize, Survive, Respond, Recover These are the stages I use when teaching CERTs how to deal with emergency events. (I stole from others and added Recognize.)

Prepare – with knowledge, supplies, securing your space, go bags, tools…

Recognize – that there is an actual emergency – for example, an earthquake and not the neighbor’s truck, or a virus not just the flu…

Survive – drop, cover, and hold on in an earthquake; exit a smoke-filled room; proper hygiene and airborne protection in a pandemic…

Respond – according to your training to mitigate a problem.

Recover – this is the longest stage.

Right now we are in a situation I never imagined would happen: we are not progressing through the stages sequentially but are in all stages concurrently in one way or another.

Again, thank you for doing your part and staying engaged in preparedness and prevention. This weekend some of the parking problems may be alleviated with the opening of beach and harbor lots and a cooler weather pattern.

Don’t be a Mask Slacker!

Fire Battalion Chief David Cosgrave
San Mateo County Battalion 10
Serving Coastside Fire Protection District
CAL FIRE
San Mateo/Santa Cruz Unit Battalion 10-A
Cell (650) 740-7247
or call the
On-Duty Coastside Battalion Chief (877) 298-1712

Proudly Serving Coastside Fire Protection District and San Mateo County Fire Department

ttps://www.listoscalifornia.org/

Chief Cosgrave Interviews: “Infection Prevention Essentials for Coastsiders” by Dr. Ronald Gemberling

Join us on Wednesday June 3rd, 6:30pm-7:30pm PDT

Join us on Wednesday June 3rd, 6:30pm-7:30pm PDT, Coastside CERT invites you to a Q&A webinar by Local Surgeon, Ronald M. Gemberling, MD, FACS on “Infection Prevention Essentials for Coastsiders”.

CLICK to REGISTER >>> us02web.zoom.us

Speaker

photo of Ronald M. Gemberling, MD, FACS

Ronald M. Gemberling, MD, is a semi-retired, board-certified plastic surgeon and has lived with his wife, Adrienne, on the Coast since 2004.

Over his surgical career he has developed an expertise and has taught about the origins of infection in the operating room and post-operative surgical site infections to medical professional and lay audiences throughout California and overseas.

His presentation:“Infection Prevention Essentials for Coastsiders” is geared to provide our community audience with enough practical information and hygiene habits during our social and economic recovery to protect themselves and the loved ones around them. The Zoom presentation will take about 45 minutes concluding with a Q & A session. Please join us and invite any interested friends.

From Chief David Cosgrave

San Mateo County Battalion 10
Serving Coastside Fire Protection District
CAL FIRE
San Mateo/Santa Cruz Unit Battalion 10-A
Cell (650) 740-7247
or call the
On-Duty Bayside Battalion Chief (877) 298-1711
On-Duty Coastside Battalion Chief (877) 298-1712

Proudly Serving Coastside Fire Protection District and San Mateo County Fire Department

Go to CoastsideCERT.com to get on our email newsletter.

Coastside CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is an emergency preparedness volunteer organization focused on creating a ready and resilient community along the San Francisco Bay Area coast from the southern side of the Tom Lantos Tunnel (Devil’s Slide) to Tunitas Creek Road.

Join Us If you’d like to join Coastside CERT, please fill out this form.