Dress Code Policy

NUMBER: POL-B.3                                                                                                     DATE: March 2022

PREPARED BY: Ginny Katona                                                                                  APPROVED BY: Jeffrey Katz

 

PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers represent the Fairfax County CERT Program, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, and Fairfax County in a professional manner at public events.

BACKGROUND

Fairfax County CERT volunteers, working at public events, must look professional. Dressing uniformly will achieve this goal.

SITUATION

As volunteers, Fairfax County CERT volunteers are representing Fairfax County, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, and the Fairfax County CERT Program. The public should have the best experience in observing our performance and appearance. Non-compliance with this policy results in volunteers appearing to be less organized.

 

Additionally, wearing Fairfax County CERT attire, such as shirts, hats, and other items must be done responsibly. This includes wearing the uniform to and from an event.

POLICY STATEMENT

Fairfax County CERT events are planned based on the requirements generated by CERT leadership from internal requests or those that come from the public, County agencies, other government agencies, or non-government organizations (NGOs). Appropriate uniform guidance for CERT event participants will be specified in operations plans, Volunteer Management System (VMS) opportunity notes, and other direction provided by the CERT Leads for their respective events. CERT volunteers are responsible for compliance with the provided guidance for their volunteer opportunity.

 

The CERT Event Lead is responsible for allowing or denying participation for any CERT volunteers arriving at an event without proper attire. CERT Event Leads have final say on the uniform at their events.

 

This policy addresses the CERT uniform. This policy does not address uniform requirements for CERT  Support Volunteers. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requirements are found in the “Personal Protective Equipment Policy.” Events, and CERT volunteer roles in those events, dictate the dress code requirements found below.

Requirements

  • Outreach table/booth, traffic, and crowd management (TCM), course marshaling, and roving volunteers at festivals – Green Fairfax County CERT t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, or polo; khaki-colored pants (long, unless other allowed by CERT Event Lead); and sturdy shoes. If needed, a soft hat/cap, knit cap, raingear, and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

2) Instructors and Assistants – Green Fairfax County CERT t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, or polo; long, khaki-colored pants; and sturdy shoes. If needed, a soft hat/cap, knit cap, raingear, and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

3) Moulage artists – Green Fairfax County CERT t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, or polo; dark or khaki-colored pants (long, unless other allowed by CERT Event Lead); and sturdy shoes. If needed, a soft hat/cap, knit cap, raingear, and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

4) Evaluators, controllers, and other staff at exercises – Green Fairfax County CERT t-shirt, long sleeve shirt, or polo; long, dark or khaki-colored pants; and sturdy shoes. If needed, a soft hat/cap, knit cap, raingear, and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

5) CERT rescuer at an exercise – shirt, long pants, CERT vest, sturdy or reinforced toe footwear, and a CERT or non-CERT-issued backpack. If needed, raingear and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

6) Survivor/patient actors – Shirt, long pants, and sturdy shoes. If needed, raingear and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

7) Classes/Training/Meetings – No formal dress code, unless the event is at the Fire and Rescue Academy. See #9 below.

 

8) Work events – Some events will be deemed as work events to perform cleaning, construction, painting, moving of equipment, or other “dirty” tasks. The wearing of green CERT shirts is not recommended. Wear shirt, long pants, and sturdy shoes. If needed, raingear and/or additional clothing may be worn. See the Materials section below.

 

9) Fire and Rescue Academy (FRA) access – Entering the Fire and Rescue Academy building for training, classes, or other business requires the CERT uniform or business casual attire (no jeans). See above for uniform requirements for specific events. CERT volunteers should utilize the restrooms on arrival to change clothes on site if needed. CERT volunteers that are at the FRA to be a CERT rescuer or a patient/survivor for an exercise should follow the requirements under #5 or #6 above. Students enrolled in a CERT Basic class at the FRA should follow #5 above.

 

10) CERT Station access – Visiting the CERT Station for any reason requires the wearing of a shirt, long pants, ANSI Class 2 or 3 reflective safety vest, shirt or jacket, and sturdy shoes.

 

  • Materials

 

  • Hat

– Soft hat/cap – A baseball style cap or floppy hat that does not restrict peripheral vision. May have a CERT logo or no logo. Hat/cap may be green, khaki, or other neutral color.

– Knit cap – Worn for cold weather events. May have a CERT logo or no logo. Hat/cap may be green, khaki, or other neutral color.

 

  • Shirt

– Unspecified “shirt” is any long or short sleeve shirt.

 

– Green Fairfax County CERT t-shirt – short or long sleeve, green, with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue logo on the front left and “Fairfax County CERT Community Emergency Response Team” on the back.

 

– Green Fairfax County polo shirt – Short or long sleeve, collared, green, with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue logo on the front left and “Fairfax County CERT Community Emergency Response Team” on the back. Usually reserved for leadership and training cadre.

 

– Green Fairfax County collared dress shirt – Long sleeve, buttoned shirt with yellow “Fairfax County Emergency Response Team CERT” on the front left. No lettering on the back.

 

– Special event t-shirt – specific, limited edition, t-shirt for a special event. – All shirts issued by Fairfax County CERT shall not be modified in any way without written permission from the Fairfax County CERT Volunteer Lead or a Deputy Volunteer Lead.

 

  • Pants

– Long pants – Full length pants or trousers, color determined by the Event Lead. No leggings, jeggings, yoga pants, or distressed-style pants. Jeans and sweat-pants are ONLY allowed for CERT rescuers at exercises, survivor/patient actors, work events, and CERT Station access.

 

– Knee-length pants or shorts – No more than 2” above the knee, color determined in the Event Briefing. No jeans, leggings, jeggings, yoga pants, sweat-pants, or distressed-style pants. Allowed for warm weather events when specified by the Event Lead for Outreach Table/Booth, Traffic and Crowd Management (TCM), Course Marshaling, Roving Volunteers at Festivals, and Moulage Artists.

 

  • Footwear

– Sturdy shoes – Shoes or boots that enclose the entire foot. Footwear that is not acceptable includes, but is not limited to, sandals, flip-flops, open-toe shoes, open-heel shoes, open-in-the-middle shoes, or perforated shoes.

 

  • Rain Gear

– Jacket or poncho – to be worn under any vest used for the event.

 

– Rain hat/hood – can be used if it does not interfere with peripheral vision.

 

– Rain pants – Can be worn. If possible, should be yellow, lime-yellow, black, tan, or green.

 

  • Vest

– CERT vest – Issued by Fairfax County CERT to volunteers taking the CERT Basic training, or upon transfer from another jurisdiction. Note that the standard CERT vest does not meet the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requirement of a Type R Class 2 safety vest to be used for TCM, and are not to be confused with the Type R Class 2 safety vests (with “CERT” on the back) provided by the CERT Program for events requiring its use.

– High Visibility Vest, Shirt or Jacket – ANSI Class 2 or 3 reflective attire is required when visiting the CERT Station for any reason.

 

  • Additional Clothing

– Cold, wet, or sunny weather events may warrant additional garments to stay warm, dry, or protected from the sun. All additional garments must be without logos other than CERT. National CERT Program items are acceptable, if they do not indicate another CERT jurisdiction.

 

– Consider your appearance when working events in public. Avoid wearing garments, other than outer jackets, with patterns or colors such as red, purple, or blue, that distract from the CERT uniform. If you don’t know, ask!

 

  • Back/waist pack

– CERT backpack – green backpack issued to volunteers taking the CERT Basic training, or upon transfer from another jurisdiction.

 

– Backpack – Non-CERT-issued backpack. Should be green or neutral-colored. No non-CERT logos

 

– Waist pack – Non-CERT-issued. Should be green or neutral-colored, and functional for the event. Used to carry wallet, keys, cellphone, small flashlight, small multi-tools, pen and paper, personal first aid supplies, etc. Other items such as duct tape and water bottle, if appropriate for the event, may hang on the waist pack; otherwise, stow in a backpack.

 

  • Name Tag

– A name tag is optional. Fairfax County CERT or plain (no other organization) name tags are acceptable.

 

– The Fairfax County CERT name tag is available for purchase. The name tag is customizable with name (minimum, first name), CERT class #, zip code, or radio call sign.

 

– The name tag is worn on the right side of the shirt, opposite the logo. The name tag should not be worn when in the role of a survivor/patient actor, or when there is a risk of losing the name tag.

 

  • Miscellaneous

– Other National CERT Program items are those purchased elsewhere that do not say “Fairfax” or any other location.

 

– The CERT uniform is subject to change due to new uniform options being available, or other circumstances.

 

– The CERT Event Lead may allow knee-length pants or shorts, no more than 2” above the knee, to be worn during warm weather for certain events. When CERT is working with Fire and Rescue for the event, follow any directives from the Fire and Rescue Incident Commander (IC).

 

– The green, Fairfax County CERT shirts of all styles are considered a piece of the uniform. The shirts shall not be worn in a non-uniform manner; e.g., with jeans.

 

– Additional clothing and back/waist packs may be worn or brought to all events under most circumstances. Any restrictions will be noted in the Event Briefing and/or the class/event description.

– Events hosted by organizations other than Fairfax County CERT may require different event attire such as a different shirt, hat, or vest.

 

– The use of profanity and buying, consuming, or serving of alcohol while wearing CERT identifiers is prohibited.

 

– Any necessary on-site changing of shirts or pants must be done out of public view.

 

GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS

Abbreviations

 

CERT – Community Emergency Response Team

FRA – Fire and Rescue Academy

IC – Incident Commander

MUTCD – Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

NGO – Non-Government Organization

TCM – Traffic and Crowd Management

VMS – Volunteer Management System

 

Terms

 

CERT Support Volunteers – This is a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue credentialed, invitation-only group of CERT trained volunteers.

CERT Uniform – Green Fairfax County CERT shirt, khaki-colored long pants and sturdy shoes. Note that dark-colored pants (no jeans) are considered part of the uniform for certain events noted in the Requirements section above.

County – Fairfax County

Event Lead – CERT volunteer assigned to lead an Outreach or Operational event

Moulage – “The art of applying mock injuries for the purpose of training emergency response teams and other medical and military personnel.” (Wikipedia)

Rescuer – a CERT volunteer who will have the role of a CERT volunteer responding to a disaster scenario.

CERT Station – the CERT storage and work area at the top of “Mt. Trashmore” on the I66 Transfer Station property.

Survivor/Patient Actor – anyone participating in an exercise, drill, or training who will act out a given role as a survivor of a disaster, a patient needing assistance, or a bystander.

Volunteer Management System (VMS) – An electronic system used by Fairfax County volunteers to register for volunteer opportunities and to record their volunteer hours.

 

REFERENCES/DOCUMENTATION

1) Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov

2) CERT Personal Protective Equipment Policy (TBD)

3) Wikipedia, https://www.wikipedia.org