St. Mary’s County Department of Public Safety is offering Community Emergency Response Team training to private citizens, residential communities, organizations and educational institutions within the county. CERT is about readiness, people helping people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number. It is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens will be initially on their own and their actions can make a difference.
The CERTProgram educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERTmembers can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
The training is free, and all materials and equipment are provided by the Department of Public Safety. All participants will receive a CERT bag that includes basic emergency response items, such as gloves, helmet, goggles, and a flashlight. The training is a total of 20 hours, which can be divided over a period of time that best suits your training needs.
The next training course is scheduled for March 21 and March 22. If you are interested in becoming prepared for disasters, please contact Jaclyn Shaw, Department of Public Safety at (301) 475-4200 ext.2125. For more information on emergency preparedness, log on to
www.stmarysmd.com (http://www.stmarysmd.com/ ). Click on Public Safety under the Services box.