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Are You Ready?
Posted by Anne
We live in a different world than we did before September 11, 2001. We are more aware of our vulnerabilities, more appreciative of our freedoms, and more understanding that we have a personal responsibility for the safety of our families, our neighbors and our nation.
But we also know that we can take action now to help protect our families, help reduce the impact an emergency has on our lives, and help deal with the chaos if an incident does occur.
The Southlake Department of Public Safety and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, using the model created by the Los Angeles City Fire Department, began promoting the use of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept in 2003.
Since then, CERT’s have been established in several neighborhoods within the City of Southlake. CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability for their area. If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community’s professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.
CERT members maintain and refine their skills by participating in exercises and activities. They can attend supplemental training opportunities offered by the sponsoring agency and others that further their skills base. Finally, CERT members can volunteer for projects that improve community emergency preparedness.
The CERT course is taught in the community by a trained team of first responders, who have completed a CERT Train-the-Trainer course.
Be sure to sign up to take this class that will not only serve you and your family but your community as well.
Written by Lt. Shaw Fannan of the Southlake Fire Department.
  
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