CERT training starts Tuesday
Gilroy – South county residents who want to be more prepared in emergency can take the free Community Emergency Response Team training.
The seven-week course covers topics ranging from fire safety and suppression to medical treatment. The classes are open to anyone 11 years or older of any physical ability. Those individuals who complete all 23 hours of training will become CERT certified.
The hands on training is offered by the South County Neighborhood Disaster Project, a non-profit organization that coordinates the trainings, two to three times a year.
“We have people … put out a small fire in a controlled environment,” said Donna Krein, who works with SCNDP. “We have them do light search and rescue. We use drama students from the high school for the drill.”
CERT Coordinator Deborah Suzuki first got involved in disaster training after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. She contacted the city of Sunnyvale, where she lived at the time, to find out what she could do to prepare. She soon organized preparedness plans for her family and her neighborhood.
With earthquakes, floods and fires a possibility, people should be prepared to survive on their own.
“We learned that from Katrina, you are on your own for at least a week,” she said.
Cert Classes
7 to 10pm, at MHPD, 16200 Vineyard Blvd.
Oct. 4
Introduction to Disaster
Preparedness
Oct. 11
Fire Safety and Suppression
Oct. 18
Medical Treatment Part 1
Oct. 25
Medical Treatment Part 2
Nov. 1
Light Search and Rescue
Nov. 8
Disaster Psychology, Terrorism and Communications
Nov. 15
Maximizing Strength Exercises
Nov. 19, 9am to 2pm
Disaster Simulation Exercise
