City Graduates 50-Member Community Emergency Response Team

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Fifty new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members completed the 21-hour Federal Emergency Management (FEMA) course in Pasadena Saturday, including city staff, personnel from Huntington Hospital and Caltech, a team of Wildland Fire students and several community residents.

The free emergency preparedness training taught volunteers how to help themselves and their community in times of disaster, and how to care for others and identify potential problems before they happen.

The training is handled by experienced response personnel, including Pasadena firefighters, and health and rescue personnel.

“Pasadena CERT Coordinator Carolyn Seitz and a team of invaluable leadership volunteers help coordinate the class and logistics,” City spokesperson Lisa Derderian, also the City’s Emergency Management Coordinator, said.

“Pasadena Fire Station 32 is the home of our Urban Search and Rescue Team and they teach many of the modules. The students appreciate working with the actual personnel who have regional experience and can share the reality of what happens and how to assist when large scale disasters strike or how to help in day to day emergencies.”

The CERT program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the 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.

The CERT concept was originally developed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department years ago and was eventually adopted by FEMA. The program offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.

Derderian said the full CERT class is offered twice a year and Council members host CERT four-hour overviews periodically.

For more information about CERT, call 744-7276 or visit www.cityofpasadena.net/fire/community-programs/community-emergency-response-team.