East Hartford Offers a Free Community Emergency Response Team Training
The Town of East Hartford is happy to announce that it is currently accepting applications for the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Course.
The training is free, however pre-registration is required as the class size is limited to 35 participants. Classes will be held every Monday evening starting on September 2, 2019 from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM and will continue for ten consecutive weeks, at the East Hartford North End Senior Center, located at 30 Remington Rd. Enrolled students will receive equipment and the opportunity to apply to join East Hartford CERT team upon course completion.
“This is a great opportunity for community members to learn about basic disaster preparedness and public safety,” said Mayor Marcia Leclerc. “The skills that participants will learn in this course might save lives in the future.”
CERT is a program that educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that might impact their area and trains citizens on basic disaster response skills. When a disaster such as a major hurricane strikes, emergency responders are generally focused on the most critical emergencies. Therefore, it’s important for residents to have the ability to help themselves, their families and community around them leading up to and following a disaster. Fortunately, these skills can be easily learned. Through classroom and hands-on instruction participants in the CERT training will learn about disaster preparedness and basic response related to fire safety, disaster medical operations and light search and rescue. This ten-week course will also cover disaster psychology, terrorism and the mission of the CERT organization. The course will culminate in a CERT drill, putting what participants have learned into practice. There is no previous experience needed to participate in the training. Classes will be a combination of hands-on experience as well as lecture style, and they are designed to offer students decision-making and practical skills needed to safely assist families, neighbors and coworkers in the event of an emergency or disaster.
Those who wish to participate can fill out an online application here. Applications for the training can also be picked up at Fire Department Headquarters located at the Public Safety Complex, 31 School Street, East Hartford, CT 06108 or by contacting CERT Coordinator Paul Belanger at (860) 881-6964 or via e-mail pbelanger@easthartfordct.gov.