Leslie Bergdorff, Paramedic and Captain with the Macon County Ambulance Service and Tom Dallas, Constable, representing Lafayette Fire Department and Macon County Rescue Squad recently completed a 3 day (24 hour) class, getting certified as Instructors for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Two deputies of the Sheriffs Office are already trained as instructors, these being Larry West and Michael Veatch. Now that Bergdorff and Dallas are trained, all major city/county response agencies are represented and prepared to conduct training for CERT team formation in Macon County.

The CERT teams and the program would be sponsored by Macon County Emergency Management Directors office if there are adequate numbers of citizens interested and willing to participate. Please call the Lafayette Fire Department and express your interest or contact your county/city officials and elected representatives and let them know you are interested. You may also contact Tom Dallas at 615-633-6687.

The CERT Instructor training program is funded by U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA as a part of the Citizens Corps project. The training was sponsored by Tennessee Governors Office of Homeland Security and conducted at Fall Creek Falls State Park and all training expenses (course fees, rooms and meals) were paid by Homeland Security/FEMA.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Following a major disaster, professional first responders who provide fire, rescue and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment’s notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.

We have seen this twice here in Macon County in last few years, first with the tornado in 2008 and the flooding in 2010.

The CERT course will benefit any citizen who takes it. This individual will be better prepared to respond to and cope with the aftermath of a disaster. Additionally, if a community wants to supplement its response capability after a disaster, civilians can be recruited and trained as neighborhood, business, and government teams that, in essence, will be auxiliary responders. These groups can provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster. Since 1993 when this training was made available nationally by FEMA, communities in 28 States and Puerto Rico have conducted CERT training.

The CERT course is delivered in the community by a team of first responders who have the requisite knowledge and skills to instruct the sessions. The CERT training for community groups is usually delivered in 2 1/2 hour sessions, one evening a week over a 7 week period.

The training consists of the following; DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS, DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY AND TEAM ORGANIZATION, COURSE REVIEW AND A DISASTER SIMULATION where participants review their answers from a take home examination. Then they practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six sessions in disaster activity in a mock real world disaster.

CERT is about readiness, people helping people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens will be initially on their own and their actions can make a difference. 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.

For more information visit the CERT website at “http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert” or contact Tom Dallas at 615-633-6687.