Regional CERT team recruiting volunteers


CHATHAM
– The Towns of Brewster, Orleans, Chatham and Harwich have formed a Regional Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). This new program will focus on disaster preparedness and response and create a Team of community volunteers. This seven-week program begins on October 8, 2019 at the Chatham Fire Station. Preregistration is required. Class size is limited to 30 participants.

CERTs help to educate citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact our community, and train them in basic disaster response skills. CERTs are composed of citizen volunteers who actively participate in classroom exercises to learn key emergency response skills and commit to helping serve their community following a disaster activity when professional responders are not immediately available.

Properly trained CERT members can serve as extensions of professional emergency teams, giving critical support to first responders, providing immediate assistance to victims, organizing spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and helping with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.

CERT Volunteers will be trained using classroom and hands-on practical evolutions to respond safely, responsibly, and effectively to emergency situations in a strategy designed to supplement the response efforts of the community’s professional public safety personnel during man-made and natural disasters. The team will also be used to provide logistical and management support during non-emergency events such as parades, town meetings, storm sheltering administration, roads races, cooling/warming shelter operations, volunteer recruitment, and emergency operations center functions in the Towns on an as needed basis. Upon completion of the mandatory basic certification training, members will be provided with a CERT Backpack that consists of personal emergency response safety gear and identification badges. Monthly training will be also held in order to ensure members maintain a high level of operational and deployment readiness. The team is open to individuals 16 years of age and older.

BOCH CERT Training Course

Class dates: October 8/10/15/17/22/24 & 29 from 6-9pm

Location: Chatham Fire Station
135 Depot Road
Chatham, MA

Team applications are available at the Chatham Fire Station, Police Department and Town Hall or online at the Town of Chatham website https://www.chatham-ma.gov/sites/chathamma/files/uploads/boch_cert_class_application.pdf

Chatham residents shall mail, or email completed applications by September 27, 2019 to: Chatham Fire 135 Depot Rd. Chatham Ma. 02633, [email protected]

If you would like any additional information about this topic, please call Peter Connick, Director of Emergency Management/Fire Chief at (508) 945-2324 or email at [email protected], BOCH CERT Manager David Miller [email protected], OR Emergency Manager John Kondratowicz [email protected]



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