General Information... Community Members Graduate from a Community Response Training Program by Talbot County Emergency Services (DES) on Tuesday, November 1, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Michael Boldosser, 410-770-8166

On Monday evening October 31, 2011 members of the community completed a 40 hour Community Emergency Response Training program (CERT) which included a mock building collapse with trapped victims, accompanied by a live fire where the students applied those lessons learned. The class was divided into four teams, who then went from station to station, rendering first aid, freeing a victim trapped by fallen debris, and putting out a fire.

The CERT program is a part of a national effort to prepare communities for disasters and is coordinated by Mr. Jim Bottorf who volunteers his time and has experience in conducting these programs in other states.

The course is not designed to train members of a community as first responders, but to teach them to be able to care for themselves, their families, and neighbors in times of disaster, realizing first responders cannot be everywhere at once during a wide-scale disaster. The course is free and includes such topics as emergency preparedness, disaster first aid, fire suppression, light search and rescue, and disaster psychology.

Clay Stamp, DES Director stated, “This valuable community preparedness program couldn’t be conducted without the efforts of our DES staff, our DES volunteers Jim Bottorf and Ron Weber, past CERT graduates, and the direct assistance of our volunteer fire departments.”

The Department of Emergency Services will be offering another CERT class in the spring. The curriculum is interactive; a combination of lecture and hands-on activities, and is open to all citizens over the age of 16. Classes are taught by subject matter experts. The course concludes with a final disaster activity. There is no charge for the class and graduates receive a duffel bag filled with items such as a first aid kit, flashlight, personal protection equipment and much more. Those who complete the course will also be offered follow-on training in CPR and other disaster related topics.

When issuing final words to the group Jim stated, “I am proud of each of you for taking your time to become prepared to be able to take care of yourselves, your families, and neighbors in emergencies.” he further explained to the group that disasters can happen any place at any time such as the recent earthquake, followed a few days later by Hurricane Irene.

For more information, contact Michael Boldosser, Emergency Planner, at 410-770-8166 or email him at mboldosser@talbotcountymd.gov. CERT is a program of Citizen Corps under the aegis of Homeland Security.