A meeting for those interested in becoming Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members is coming up later this month.
Disaster preparation training exercises are frequently held by first responder and government agencies which focus on what the professionals are to do in the event of emergencies. But disasters often make it difficult for professionals to reach the damaged areas and the injured quickly.
This is why CERT members, who are likely already in the area, become a very important resource in event of areal disasters.
According to the City of Ferndale website,
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Click for more informationThink of your CERT volunteers as similar to volunteer firefighters but preparing for large scale disasters. They are on location before first responders and can provide support in large-scale events like an earthquake or flood.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website,
Through training, citizens can manage utilities and put out small fires; treat the three killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock; provide basic medical aid; search for and rescue victims safely and organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective.
The public is welcome to attend an informational meeting on Saturday, October 29th from 10am to noon in the Ferndale Emergency Operations Center located in the Ferndale Police Station at 2220 Main Street.
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Click for more informationThose interested in attending formal CERT training, to begin later this year, can sign up at the meeting or by emailing Riley Sweeney at rileysweeney@cityofferndale.org.
Also attending will be members of the Ferndale Auxiliary Communications Service, made up of amateur radio operators who have trained to provide communications support to the city agencies and the Whatcom Unified Emergency Coordination Center.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985. The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) and the National Fire Academy later adopted and expanded the CERT training materials. And, since 1993, FEMA made training available nationally.
The CERTS program is one of several federally funded Citizen Corps partner program. Others include the National Neighborhood Watch Program, Fire Corps, Medical Reserve Corps and Volunteers in Police Service.