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This is a message from the Community Emergency Response Team of South Orange
We want you to help your community in an emergency.
CERT was started in Los Angeles in 1985 with the understanding that until professional first responders arrive,
the first people on the scene are typically the local community members
Additionally, professional first responders need support services to help once survivors make it to safety.
CERT works under the command of our village Office of Emergency Management, Police, Fire or Emergency Medical Team.
Whoever is officially in charge.
CERT is supported by the Essex County Office of Emergency Management, the State of New Jersey Office of Emergency Management,
and FEMA, and there are CERT teams here in South Orange and in our neighboring towns of Maplewood,
West Orange, and Orange.
So what does CERT do to help in an emergency response effort?
First of all, we make sure that we as volunteers are prepared to respond,
so we are trained on personal and household preparedness;
we also inform the public on this as well.
We understand the kinds of disasters that can happen and what type of response is needed.
We conduct light search and rescue and basic medical triage for those who are physically injured in a disaster.
We provide disaster mental health assistance also known as psychological first aid, similar to medical first aid, to those who may need help.
More recently, CERT has taken part in emergency sheltering,
offering a respite from stormy or cold weather for those who cannot stay in their homes.
CERT Volunteers also help out at community events and participate in emergency exercises with the first responder community.
When CERT volunteers are not responding to emergency events,
we are continually improving and making sure that we are prepared.
We evaluate our level of preparedness and response through self assessments or exercises,
then we develop new plans for improvement or new standard operating procedures.
We organize and equip ourselves in accordance with those plans,
making sure we have adequate human, material, and equipment resources to fulfill our mission.
We follow this by training on standard procedures in those plans, in the classroom or outside in drills,
and then we exercise those plans and skills in table-top exercises, drills, functional and full exercises whether by ourselves,
town, region, or on the national level. Exercises then start the cycle all over in helping us evaluate our capabilities.
So who are we looking for?
We are looking for volunteers who want to be a part of a team committed to protect and save families and our community in a disaster event.
Volunteers are expected to: Complete 5 days of training (given on Saturdays); Respond if called to an emergency event;
Take part in periodic training and exercises.
What this means is an up front commitment to 5 days of training or 35 hours of your time over the first month;
you can of course miss a day and then find another time to train when the course is offered.
Then it means taking part in at least one exercise or training every year, a total of about 3 hours.
We do have monthly meetings that we invite all CERT volunteers to attend if they would like,
and we do encourage CERT volunteers to take part in public events where we assist or have a presentation booth.
As Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players ever, once said:
Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
So we are asking you to step up and volunteer.
Get involved now by signing up today, and we will contact you when the courses are given and when we have our next exercise or event.