The room is dim and still. A table is flipped upside-down and a bloody arm is on the ground. Five people are strewn across the floor, injured and unconscious with blood dripping from their wounds.

On the surface, it looks like a gruesome crime scene, but it is really a scene staged to look like the aftermath of a horrible disaster.

The mock scene was played out several times as hundreds of members of San Francisco’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT) gathered at Marina Middle School on Saturday June 26 to practice saving people in the wake of a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

A community-based organization, NERT teaches citizens to give professional aid during an emergency. NERT began in 1989 when neighbors of the Marina District asked for training from the San Francisco Fire Department after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Volunteers are trained in their own communities and gather annually for the citywide drill, painting people with fake wounds and broken limbs, and having others evaluate and treat the injured.

“The NERT team works hand-in-hand with us,” said John Rocco, NERT instructor and firefighter of the SFFD. “The six week training covers all the bases from cribbing, to terrorist attacks, to fire.”

During Saturday’s training, NERT members rushed into mock emergency scenes in each of the school’s classrooms and put their skills to the test on injured victims. From major wounds to emotional shock, NERT trainees are responsible for a thorough search and rescue. They check the response of victims by shaking them gently, check if they’re breathing, and giving simple commands, such as touching their noses and raising their hands.

With the trained help of 11,000 NERT members in San Francisco, communities are as prepared as they can be for any natural disasters or terrorist attacks, said officials.

“There are 300 firefighters working each day,” said Lit. Erica Arteseros, coordinator of NERT. “That is enough on a day-to-day basis, but if there was to be a natural disaster, civilians would have to play a role. We will need trained civilians.”

According to Pete Howes, executive officer for the SFFD, there are not enough fire stations for immediate rescues during a disaster, therefore, firefighters need the help of citizens.

“The NERT program is a very strong support to the fire department and other emergency departments. It is very important for disasters and attacks,” said Joey Ho, member of NERT and Medical Reserve Corps.

The Emergency Response Program, which works closely with Red Cross, estimates that there will be 50,000 people in the Bay Area who will want to volunteer.

“On a day-to-day basis, the Emergency Response Program works with agencies to provide volunteers for their daily operations,” said Amy Conn, manager of the program. “In a disaster, we will set up a phone bank to find volunteers and if the phone lines are down, there will be a reception center.”

No matter what disasters or attacks San Francisco may face, citizens can depend NERT volunteers in their residential areas to help their neighbors.

“In an attack, each group would go back to its residential area; basically, they should reassemble in their groups,” said Rocco. “They are taught proper, yet simple, techniques in saving lives before firefighters can reach their destination.”

BAMMA is a summer journalism camp for high school students coordinated by the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism through the journalism department at SF State. For more information or comments on BAMMA, please contact Cristina Azocar.