By Ed Messinger, Redwood Shores CERT Lead
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has been in existence for nearly forty years. In 1985 a group of Los Angeles fire officials traveled to Japan to learn how Japan responded to disastrous earthquakes. While there, the LA fire officials observed first hand how community residents played a significant role in post-disaster support and response, when the deadly Kyoto Earthquake struck during their visit. Later that year LAFD officials visited Mexico in the wake of the 8.1 Mexico City Earthquake, observing that local citizens acted as first responders helping injured and trapped victims.
A year later the LA Fire Department created a CERT pilot program to teach a group of community members about first aid, fire suppression, search, and evacuation techniques. During the October 1, 1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake, city officials saw first hand how valuable the CERT program could be and stepped up to support it. In 1993 CERT became part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), offered to communities nationwide.
In Redwood Shores we have a Team of 36 active FEMA Certified CERT members! We are all CERT Academy graduates (part of Redwood City/ San Carlos CERT) where we were trained in: CERT Organization, Disaster Preparedness, Medical Treatment, Light Search & Rescue, Fire & Utility Safery, and Disaster Psychology. We also continue to re-train each year to keep our skills fresh and ready to use. In the event there is a major disaster, we would be ‘activated’ to report to an Incident Command Post here in Redwood Shores, and from there we would send CERT Teams out into our neighborhoods to provide first responder help until professional help (Paramedic, Fire, Police) arrives. Even then, we would likely support the professional responders in some capacity, under their direction.
If you are interested in joining our Redwood Shores CERT Team, the next CERT Academy will be offered sometime this coming Spring. Watch for that announcement in the Pilot newsletter around the March/April time frame!
A Blog for the Peninsula CERT Community 