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Hot Topic Community Emergency Response Team Training
Free 20 hour course open to Chatham County residents that teaches family and workplace disaster preparedness, basic search & rescue operations, small fire suppression, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology and team organization.
CERT CLASSES SCHEDULED FOR THE FOLLOWING DATES:
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
***To register for this class, please visit http://www.chathamemergency.org/general/community-emergency-response-t.php and complete the online questionnaire.***
WHAT IS CERT?
Local government prepares for everyday emergencies; however during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is an all-hazard training designed to assist Chatham County residents in protecting themselves, their family, their neighbors and their neighborhood in an emergency situation.
CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. While people will respond to others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger.
In the CERT training, citizens learn to:
• Manage utilities and put out small fires
• Treat the three medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock
• Provide basic medical aid
• Search for and rescue victims safely
• Organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective
• Collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.
HOW DOES CERT BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY?
People who go through CERT training have a better understanding of the potential threats to their home, workplace and community and can take the right steps to lessen the effects of these hazards on themselves, their homes or workplace. If a disaster happens that overwhelms local response capability, CERT members can apply the training learned in the classroom and during exercises to give critical support to their family, loved ones, neighbors or associates in their immediate area until help arrives. When help does arrive, CERTs provide useful information to responders and support their efforts, as directed, at the disaster site. CERT members can also assist with non-emergency projects that improve the safety of the community. CERTs have been used to distribute and/or install smoke alarms, replace smoke alarm batteries in the home of elderly, distribute disaster education material, provide services at special events, such as parades, sporting events, concerts and more.
WHY DO THE CERT TRAINING?
CERT Training is synonymous to paying for car insurance. You may never need CERT Training or car insurance (at least we hope not), but if the occasion arises, having the CERT training, just like having car insurance, means you're as ready as you can be to help yourself, your family and your neighborhood.
HOW DO I SIGN UP?
CERT is provided free of charge in Chatham County to anyone 18 years of age or older.
Classes are taught four times a year at various locations within the County.
CERT members receive 16 hours of hands-on training as well as participate in a four hour disaster simulation to test their newly acquired skills.
Upon completing the full 20 hour course, participants will receive a Certificate of Completion, a CERT disaster kit and an open invitation to join the Chatham County CERT Organization. If a participant must miss a class, they will be able to make it up during the next CERT training course.
Chatham County will offer the CERT course in March of 2010.
To register for this class, please visit http://www.chathamemergency.org/general/community-emergency-response-t.php and complete the online questionnaire.
HOW DID CERT BEGIN?
1985:
In February of 1985, a group of Los Angeles City officials went to Japan to study its extensive earthquake preparedness plans. The group encountered a society that had taken extensive steps to train entire neighborhoods in alleviating the potential devastation that would follow a major earthquake. These neighborhood teams were trained in fire suppression, light search and rescue operations, first aid, and/or evacuation.
In September of 1985, a Los Angeles City investigation team was sent to Mexico City following an earthquake that registered 8.1 on the Richter scale and killed more than 10,000 people and injured more than 30,000. Mexico City had no training program for citizens prior to the disaster, however large groups of volunteers organized themselves and performed basic search and rescue operations. Volunteers are credited with more than 800 successful rescues; unfortunately, more than 100 of these untrained volunteers died during the 15-day rescue operation.
The lessons learned in Mexico City strongly indicated that a plan to train volunteers to help themselves and others, as well as become an adjunct to government response, was needed as an essential part of overall preparedness, survival and recovery.
1986:
The City of Los Angeles Fire Department developed a pilot program to train a group of leaders in a neighborhood watch organization. A concept developed involving multi-functional volunteer response teams with the ability to perform basic fire suppression, light search and rescue, and first aid. The first team of 30 participants completed training in early 1986 and proved that the concept was viable through various drills, demonstrations, and exercises. Expansion of the program was not feasible due to limited city resources; however that was soon to change in early October of 1987.
1987:
On October 1, 1987, the Whittier Narrows earthquake vividly underscored the threat of an area-wide major disaster, and demonstrated the need to expedite the training of civilians to prepare for earthquakes and other emergencies.
Following the Whittier Narrows earthquake, the City of Los Angeles took an aggressive role in protecting its citizens by creating the Disaster Preparedness Division (now the Disaster Preparedness Section) within the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Their objectives included:
• Educate and train the public and government sectors in disaster preparedness
• Research, evaluate, and disseminate disaster information
• Develop, train, and maintain a network of Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).
1993:
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided to make the concept and program available to communities nationwide. The Emergency Management Institute (EMI), in cooperation with the LAFD, expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all hazards.
2002:
In January 2002, CERT became part of the Citizen Corps, a unifying structure to link a variety of related volunteer activities to expand community resources for crime prevention and emergency response.
2003:
Chatham County established a CERT training program through the Chatham Emergency Management Agency. 10 participants completed the training including members of local media stations.
2009:
As of October 2009, more than 250 Chatham County residents have completed the CERT training. 90 remain active participants in the Chatham County CERT Organization and are available for deployment to emergency situations.
