SONOMA COUNTY CERT ASSOCIATION

Promoting Community Emergency Response Team training
in Sonoma County Communities

Last Saturday (March 3, 2007) , our surrounding communities had about 200 individuals participating in the first annual CERT Challenge at the Santa Rosa Fire Training Center. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Teams and is a more advanced program than the City's sponsored Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies (COPE) program. CERT members spend about 24 hours of training to be certified in this program. The CERT Challenge provides CERT teams with additional education that builds on the lessons learned during their CERT training, and provided a simulated experience that utilizes the lessons learned:

• It’s a Drag: Taught new ways to carry victims and means of moving people with disabilities.
• What Hazard: Review Size-Up and learned new things to identify and watch out for. Simulation including darkness, electricity, sounds, water.
• Fired-Up: Learned to put out fires with materials at hand. Simulation included fire suppression with sand, blankets, branches, etc.
• I Want to Help: Learned how to direct the energies of Spontaneous Volunteers. Simulation included enthusiastic ‘neighbors’ and others with different capabilities/disabilities.
• Ladders Matter: Learned multiple uses for ladders beyond climbing trees to rescue cats. Simulation included bridges, sand bags, and victim transport.
• Triage & Cribbing: Learned more Triage & Cribbing skills. Simulation included multiple victims with moulage and required cribbing for rescue.

Red Cross with the Volunteer Center sponsored this event with the additional instructional and support of volunteers and City Staff including: Captain John Abers, Captain Ron Batey, Ed Buonaccorsi, Firefighter Lagourgue and Engineer Robert MacIntyre for the first Annual CERT Challenge.