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Rowlett CERT strikes back at disaster; February class offers volunteer training
During the February 2012 CERT Rodeo Competition in Harris County, volunteers from the Rowlett Explorer Post (orange helmets) and adult CERT program compete in a cribbing exercise against other teams from around the state. / Photo courtesy of Whitney Laning
By Monique Oaks, moaks@starlocalnews.com
Should a catastrophic event strike your hometown tomorrow - perhaps knocking out power, toppling buildings, destroying communication for days - would you know what to do until help arrived?
If you were a member of the Rowlett Community Emergency Response Team, you would.
People who want to learn what it takes to respond to major disasters will have their chance during an upcoming two-day CERT training. Based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency curriculum, class units will focus on topics such as damage assessment, light search and rescue, fire suppression, triage and medical operations.
And sometimes, the CERT members flex their skills during actual disasters.
"Last year, [the tornadoes] came through Lancaster and out into Rockwall County. In Rockwall ... we canvassed the neighborhood and found out what the affected neighbors needed," Laning said. "And then, we were asked to go down to Lancaster to help them do debris removal, because there was quite a bit of building supplies from houses that were damaged or destroyed, all over."
CERT is only one of the RCCC's programs, Laning said. Another, the Rowlett Fire Corps, gives support to fire and police personnel as they respond to major incidents. The RCCC also sponsors Rowlett Explorer Post 1, amateur radio classes, and the city's Volunteers In Police Services, or VIPS, whose members assist the police department with functions such as code enforcement and holiday safety patrols.
"I just tallied up the service hours for last year, and we did just over 14,000 service hours," Laning said. "It's pretty cool. It's a good group."
The CERT team meets every six months as part of the requirement for membership.
"In addition to that, there [are] trainings that we don't offer, that we encourage folks to go to, like Skywarn training that's put out by the National Weather Service," Laning said, adding that those trainings are voluntary.
"You become as active in the program as you would like to be," he said. "The minimum that we ask is that we see you at least twice a year."
The next CERT training will be from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on two consecutive Saturdays, Feb. 16 and 23, at the Rowlett Fire Administration Building, 4701 Rowlett Road. For information or to register, call 214-417-4857 or visit rowlettcitizencorps.org.
CERT training modules
1: Disaster preparedness
2: Fire safety
3: Disaster medical operations, Part I
4: Disaster medical operations, Part II
5: Light search and rescue operations
6: CERT organization
7: Disaster psychology
8: Terrorism and CERT
9: Course review and disaster simulation
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