Cert ? ? ?

P

pastorsoup

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Feb 18, 2005
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I posted this over on the community board but didnt get any response so I thought I'd check here where I typically hang out! :o

Anyone here a member of a Community Emergency Response Team? It seems like a good idea. My county here in Indiana does not have one as far as I know but I would be interested in participating if we did. Thanks for the info. Here is a link that has some information on CERT.

http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CERT/

Soup
 
That is indeed a good idea. I'm going to look into it, thanks for the link.
 
I am currently a member of the CERT Team in Cincinnati , Hamilton County Ohio.
Training focuses on ,among other things , Diaster First Aid , light search & rescue , Self preparedness (taking care of things at home) , disaster mitigation & such.
My training was conducted at the local Red Cross facility here in Cincinnati , but some Fire Departments also conduct CERT training.
Let me know if I can get you any additional information.
Cliff
 
Cliff,

Thanks for that information. I would really like to start this for my county here in Indiana. Can you give me any feedback on the best way to get the ball rolling. Are there finances involved? How would I go about putting a team together? I want to learn as much about the process as possible.

How often does your team meet together and take part in training? Has your team taken part in any emergencies?

Thanks again for all the info.

Soup
 
Here's the web address for the FEMA Independant Course Study program.

https://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/crslist.asp

This can do a better job of getting you the info you need than I can.
IS-317 is the course for the CERT program & there are a lot of other online study courses there as well.
I think you'll be able to find info about CERT startup requirements at the website that you posted.Lots of good information there.

We haven't responded to any incidents since I've been involved, but that's only been since April 2005 , however the training could be very helpfull in other areas of interests too.
The training starts with Disaster Preparedness , then moves on to Disaster Fire suppression , Disaster medical operations including triage-patient assessment-treatment etc.
Light SAR including damage assessment , developing a rescue plan , victim removal.
Last is Disaster psychology & team organization.
All good information to have because it increases your awareness to possible hazards & thier consequences.
I hope he doesn't mind me posting his name here , but if you contact Tom Peterson at the Cincinnati chapter of the Red Cross he can probably give you more info on what it would take to get your program going.
Cliff
 
I was a member of a CERT team in South FL before moving up here to NC.

The training (and idea) is excellent. Unfortunately, the Fire Chief who ran the program in our district didn't do much to keep the program as vital as it might have been.
 
My Dept. does cert training. From what I've seen its very basic stuff,first aid, how to use a fire extinguisher etc. We have never not once used them, and I can't see how interest, yet alone skills are maintained by cert members.

In fact I have no real idea of their skills or what as an officer I would ever have a cert memeber do for me. This may be more a function of the way they run it around here then anything else and ymmv.
 
Lone Hunter said:
My Dept. does cert training. From what I've seen its very basic stuff,first aid, how to use a fire extinguisher etc. We have never not once used them, and I can't see how interest, yet alone skills are maintained by cert members.

In fact I have no real idea of their skills or what as an officer I would ever have a cert memeber do for me. This may be more a function of the way they run it around here then anything else and ymmv.
Click to expand...

I think that's a pretty accurate picture from my limited experience with CERT in my former community. At the time I was still in federal law enforcement (retired last year) and thought it would be a means of adding some other skill sets as well as performing community service.

I totally agree that unless you drill on a regular basis there's little chance of keeping the acquired skills and knowledge fresh.
 
I was about ten years ago, somewhat makes it hard to wathc the stuff on the news, wish I could go help.
 
Blues, I still think its a good idea, and frankly most folks will learn something out of it. I think where we drop the ball is that while my FD teaches people, they don't teach us what we would use these folks for. That and the fact that YEARS have gone by since the first cert class and they don't retrain as far as I know. I really think they should do some sort of 2x year drill or something. Have a couple meetings,view a tape, talk about Katrina etc.
 
pastorsoup said:
Anyone here a member of a Community Emergency Response Team?
Click to expand...

My home county, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, does not seem to be overly concerned with such matters. They can't even keep the potholes filled in. :(

I am doing a self-study course. I believe it's called "IS7 - A Citizen's Guide to Disaster Assistance." I took the test cold and scored something like an 85. Heck, I want a 95 or better! So I'm studying in the few minutes I can grab for myself here and there. It's a long haul, but it's something I want to do.

I also intend to contact our tiny, local, all-volunteer, fire department to see what first-aid and other courses they offer. I don't know what will happen there, because a bunch of their guys are in the reserves and got called up for duty in Iraq. :(
 
The training we got here was very thorough & if any of us feel that we need more of it we can sign up for more ( Katrina relief has top priority right now though).
We were given information of how to conduct our own team training if we desire to do so. Some communities conduct disaster drills & invite CERT members to participate. That additional training could really open some eyes!
The training is not intended to make any of us professional fire fighters or EMTs or USAR techs , but rather to help folks through the period of time it might take for the professionals to arrive. As we've seen in the past week , that could be a long wait. I don't want to be just sitting around waiting & not knowing what to do to help myself , my family or neighbors. I just spent a Saturday managing a Red Cross shelter here in Cincy. Only had 3 folks from NO & Mississippi come in & they were ON-THEIR-OWN down there.
The basics things like how to shut off utilities & how to use a fire extinguisher might seem , well , basic , to most , but I was surprised to find out how many folks don't know how to do these things.
It might even motivate some to actually get out & BUY a fire extinguisher for the first time.
CERT training is a good idea if you take it for what it is. Any training is good if you take it for what it is. As with any training , if you need more,get more. It's up to us all to assess our needs.
Cliff
 
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