Cert First Annual ‘mock Disaster’ Exercise Set for April 26th at Mills Pond Park

The City of Fort Lauderdale’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will sharpen their skills at a disaster response exercise on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at Mills Pond Park.

The exercise will simulate a tornado heavily damaging a crowded recreation center at the Park. In this scenario, graduates of Fort Lauderdale’s CERT Program will serve as first responders to the emergency. CERT members will engage in triage, patient treatment and transport, search and rescue, cribbing and fire suppression.

There is no registration fee to participate, however pre-registration is required. The deadline to register is 5pm, Tuesday, April 22nd. Registration forms are available online at www.fortlauderdale.gov/fire-rescue/cert or by calling 954.828.6826.

Event check-in for the April 26th exercise begins at 7am. The exercise runs from 9am – 1pm. The park is located at 2201 NW 9th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.

Park users and neighbors should not expect road closures or inconveniences. The event is centered on the grounds around the recreation center.

The news media is invited to participate.

About CERT: Neighbors helping neighbors

Day and night, Fort Lauderdale’s highly trained emergency personnel respond to calls within minutes. During a major disaster, first responders may need assistance. Fort Lauderdale’s CERT program trains citizens to respond to emergencies in their neighborhood.

Following a disaster, it’s natural for citizen volunteers to offer help. Without training, volunteers can be ineffective, or even worse, they risk causing injury or death.

With CERT training, volunteers learn to safely assist themselves, family members and neighbors using basic emergency response and organizational skills. These skills help save and sustain lives until professional rescue personnel arrive.

How CERT training works

Fort Lauderdale’s CERT is organized according to standardized incident management principles, including chain of command and span of control. As a volunteer, each CERT member works closely with emergency personnel and other CERT members serving residents in their own neighborhoods, and if they choose to be involved further, CERT members are eligible for disaster assignments throughout the City.

When CERT training is complete, graduates have a better understanding of the potential risks to homes, neighborhoods and workplaces. This knowledge enables CERT members to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards in a more effective and efficient manner.

CERT training enables citizens to provide critical emergency services, including:
+ Establish a command post
+ Basic first aid
+ Fire suppression
+ Assessing assigned areas
+ Performing light search & rescue and triage

When professional help does arrive, CERT members provide useful information to responders and support their efforts.

CERT members can also volunteer to assist with non-emergency projects that improve the safety and welfare of the community.

CERT history

The roots of CERT were developed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department over 20 years ago. The Emergency Management Institute and National Fire Academy adopted and expanded the training to be applicable throughout the country for all hazards. CERT is now a national, Department of Homeland Security program. CERT is sponsored locally by Fort Lauderdale Emergency Management and the Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Department.

The City of Fort Lauderdale has tripled the number of training opportunities for CERT graduates since last year. Advanced training courses, assignments at special events and training exercises help keep members abreast of CERT organization and structure, nationally standardized incident command procedures and communications.

CERT members honored

Area CERT members were recently honored at the First Annual Broward Area CERT Coordinators Award Luncheon. The awards program recognized CERT members for leadership, teamwork and cooperative spirit.
Cathy Curry was awarded Fort Lauderdale CERT Volunteer of the Year. A member of CERT since 1997, Curry was honored for “exemplary community leadership.”