In the wake of the current disastrous events in New York and Washington DC many untrained private citizens are wishing they could lend a helping hand only to be turned away with a feeling of helplessness. While we are all too late to help in those communities, there is no time like the present to better prepare yourself and your community for any future disasters in your own community.

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) are already an important part of the Suntree community and similar teams are being organized in other communities. I am in the process of setting up such a team in the community of Viera and many others are doing the same in their own communities. CERT members are ordinary citizens that receive basic first aid and disaster assessment training to coordinate emergency response through the Brevard County Office of Emergency Management based on triage and community destruction needs.

Training consists of three hours, one night a week, for seven weeks. CERT volunteers have and will continue to provide a well-organized group of trained volunteers to assist the dedicated county, state and federal emergency responders to meet the demands of a community in trouble.

If a disaster hit our town or place of business, we need to be better prepared. While all of us recognize the experience and dedication of our own County, State and Federal emergency responders, we must be realistic and recognize they might not be able to meet the demands of our community during a disaster. Factors such as the number of victims, communications failures, and road blockages potentially limit their response. Every community in this Country has been, or will be, affected by a natural of human-caused disaster at some point in time.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles County Fire Department in 1985. Real-life experience at Homestead, Florida, reported by Suntree CERT founder Dr. Keith Nadel, indicates emergency assistance (Police, Fire, Ambulance) could take as long as 10 days to reach our families. It was this experience that encouraged Dr. Nadel to organize and complete training for a CERT for his new neighborhood in Suntree. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet our immediate needs.

Major disaster statistics indicate we can expect 40% of our homes will be destroyed and most occupants will be injured - 60% of them dead.

What is CERT?
CERT members, after taking care of their own families and loved ones (via better training received through CERT), will help locate, triage, provide basic first-aid care, arrange ultimate transportation, and report property damage. This is all accomplished via a well-organized group of volunteers using self-funded internal communications links and ultimately the Brevard County Office of Emergency Management/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Teams of two, or more, will be assigned to walk their own neighborhoods and communicate to a local command center of each of our sub-divisions and provide mutual-aid support to each of our sub-divisions and other communities, as required. Many teams have nurses, doctors, retired medical and emergency personnel at their disposal, while other are teamed up with CERT-trained first aid volunteers and other team members taking on the task of filling out the paperwork and transmitting this information back to the command center. CERT is about readiness, people helping people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

What will be your commitments to CERT?
As much as you care to provide. Initially, the 7-week training and any refresher training's as required. Depending on the levels of interest and coordination with the authorities, CERT teams could be called into action to provide community service for situations such as "missing persons."

What will the training consist of?
The training consists of 3-hours sessions, 1 night a week, over a total of 7 weeks. The Brevard Office of Emergency Management will be offering their next training soon. Training will include: Disaster Preparedness; Disaster Fire Suppression; Disaster Medical Operations (basic first aid - No CPR, unless volunteers are interested in taking First Aid to the next level); Light Search and Rescue Operations; Disaster Psychology and Team Organization; and Course Review and Disaster Simulation. The course is completed with a take-home examination and graduates are given a CERT backpack with basic equipment to get you started and an Emergency Management picture ID badge to get you through emergency roadblocks.

What is CERTS commitment to you?
At the completion of the course, volunteers will be issued State ID cards that permit access to disaster areas through secure police lines and barricades. Anyone volunteering to help those in need are covered under the State law for "Good Samaritans." As a CERT member, when activated during an emergency, you are covered by FEMA.

Experience Required - Interest in human life and concerns for your neighborhood/place of business. No prior medical or rescue training is necessary. To be eligible as a CERT member, you don't need to be have experience as an ex-firefighter, paramedic, or emergency response team member. All we need are average adult citizens of all ages that are willing to take the initial 7-week training and have the willingness to participate in this self-rewarding challenge. CERT teams are comprised of all ages with varieties of physical abilities. The senior citizens play major roles (note taking/communications, fund-raising, etc) that contribute to the success of the organizations.

Rewards - MANY
To date, with 67 counties in the State of Florida, over half of them have organized CERT teams. With the ever-growing population in our Brevard communities, the time is now to begin organizing our own teams.

Concerns - A few
Volunteers are our primary concern. Do we have enough interest in our family, friends, and neighbors as our some of our neighboring communities already do? Once we get the people to volunteer their time to complete the 7-week training, can we find the financial resources to fund basic communications hardware and first-aid kits. Please help us help ourselves and volunteer your time and energy to a potentially life-saving organization. Your loved ones, your community/place of business, and your neighbors need your help.

Take the time and effort and sign up today. In Viera, I can be reached at rrowan2@cfl.rr.com. In Suntree, contact the Master Homeowners Association. The Brevard County Office of Emergency Management (637-6670) can put you in touch with someone in your area or any of us can provide information on how to start your own. Their website is http://www.embrevard.com/cert/index.htm.