These days, being prepared doesn't just mean collecting items for your emergency kit and making sure your gas tank is at least half full at all times. It means understanding the people who can help you along the way. Firefighters, EMS personnel, emergency managers and law enforcement officers may not have the expertise to assist and communicate you. But by understanding them and their job better, you are able to take advantage of the resources that are offered to you during incidents.
When a major disaster occurs in a local area, neighboring towns send in their emergency responders to assist. Emergency responders are often scarce when these situations happen. That's where Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) come in. Individuals in the community will come to rely on each other to survive during and cope with the aftermath of disaster situations. The CERT program was created in 1985 by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Since then 49 states, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico have conducted the trainings. The program offers six sessions and each session is taught by emergency responders. The curriculum for the program is listed below. Session I, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Session II, DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION
Session III, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS PART I
Session IV, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS, PART II
Session V, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS
Session VI, DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY AND TEAM ORGANIZATION
Session VII, COURSE REVIEW AND DISASTER SIMULATION During and following the training, you will probably be notified of several volunteer opportunities going on in your community that you can participate in to exercise your new knowledge. Take advantage of them. The more involved you get, the more prepared you are for a disaster.
Austin, Texas
CERT Training
Date: October & November, 2006
Location: The Combined Transporation, Emergency, and Communications Center
Website
Participants show of their wrapping skills. Splints such as these are used to prevent fractured bones from moving.
CART was the form of accomodations used for this CERT training. Four deaf and hard of hearing people participated in this training. CERT participant uses a fire extinquisher. During use, the muzzle of a fire extinquisher collects frost.
Boston, Massachusetts
CERT Training
Dates: June 2006
Location: The Massachusetts Firefighting Academy
Website
Participants put out a small controlled fire on the academy grounds.
Participants, donning firefighter jackets and helmets, listen to an emergency responder through an interpreter for instructions.
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