Reprinted from the Southlake Journal
Friday, January 23, 2003

CERT Program To Help Families, Communities Prepare for Disaster

By

Angelique York

The first Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class is underway at the Southlake DPS West Facility. Twenty community members, all but one graduates of the DPS Citizen’s Academy, are learning basic skills that will allow them to help others in emergency situations.

CERT got its start in 1985, when a group of Los Angeles city officials determined that citizens could play an active role in search and rescue efforts after natural disasters such as earthquakes. Several years later, the city organized a pilot program through the Los Angeles Fire Department to train group leaders of Neighborhood Watch organizations to carry out basic fire suppression, light search and rescue, and first aid. After the October 1, 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquake, the city took an aggressive role in training civilians for disaster preparedness and response. In 1993, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) took the concept and promoted the program nationwide. In cooperation with the Los Angeles Fire Department, CERT was expanded to be applicable to all hazards.

Southlake resident Anne Wise read about CERT shortly after September 11. She thought the program was important enough that she enrolled and took the course in Highland Village, the first city in North Texas to offer the instruction. Wise brought the program to the attention of Southlake Director of Public Safety, Rick Black, who saw CERT as a natural extension of the already successful DPS Citizen’s Academy program. Academy graduates are trained in police, fire, and building services procedure. Adding to their skill and knowledge would only increase that group’s value to the community.

“The motto you learn in emergency response is ‘hope for the best, prepare for the worst,’” Black said. “’We hope these individuals are never in a situation where they need this information, but if they are, they will have it.”

In the seven-week course, CERT members learn the how-to’s of disaster management. Detailed information on terrorism, severe weather, fire suppression, search and rescue, and medical operations are covered. In addition, CERT members are trained in the psychology of disaster situations, how to organize teams for triage and other duties, and assessment of when a situation should be left to professionals. Training is led by Fire Services personnel who have taken the FEMA train-the-trainer course. The program is under the direction of Garland Wilson, Deputy Director of Administrative Services, and is coordinated by Anne Wise.

Unlike the Citizen’s Academy, where each class combines an information portion with a hands-on activity, the CERT program is front-loaded with classroom lessons and moves into activities toward the end. Graduation will include a disaster simulation where CERT members will have an opportunity to try their newly acquired skills.

Jesse Cadiz said that he took the course to build on the things he learned in the Citizen’s Academy. His wife, Jamie, is an Academy graduate as well.

“The most important element is knowledge. I will know what to do in case of a disaster, whether man-made or natural,” he said. “I can use that to help my family and my neighborhood.”

Each CERT member has an athletic bag packed with emergency equipment. The items are those that would be in any household emergency kit, but also include a hard hat and green safety vest identifying the owner as a CERT team member. If a large scale incident such as a tornado should strike, a CERT member could begin to assess damages in their neighborhood. They would handle those issues within the scope of their training and be ready to interface with responding police and fire units. The vest not only helps them to be more visible, but identifies them as a contact for DPS personnel.

“This is very good for the community,” said Lieutenant Shawn Fannan. “If we were to have a disaster, CERT would be able to step in when our services are taxed or where we don’t have people available. They will have the basics they need and a working knowledge of how to assist.”

CERT takes the idea that citizens should be equipped to help their family first, then their immediate neighbors, their neighborhood, and finally, the city. The program is also important to the workplace. Verizon has asked for their disaster recovery team to be CERT trained and the Carroll ISD nurses have expressed an interest in creating a CERT team for the schools.

The current CERT class runs through February 21. Anyone interested in enrolling in the next class may contact Anne Wise via e-mail at awise@wiseacres.com. For information about the Sixth DPS Citizen’s Academy, which begins February 9, contact Lt. Barry Hinkle via e-mail at bhinkle@ci.southlake.tx.us. Both classes are free to the public.