Irvine has a program called CERT -- Community Emergency Response Team which I just joined three weeks ago. In the case of a major disaster or emergency to hit the city, the first responders (police people, firemen and women, doctors, EMTs, etc.) would be overwhelmed, especially with all of the growth Irvine has faced over the past ten years. With the trained folks all up in arms, who's left to deal with everything else? That would be CERT.
CERT is composed of volunteers, who either live or work in Irvine (those of you in other cities can check out your city's emergency management group to see if something similar exists). CERT is sponsored by the Irvine Police Association and the Orange County Fire Authority. These classes have been occuring since 2000, and I am part of class #15. So far, we are in week 3 of an 8 week class, with the "final" being a demonstration of our learning. The classes cover disaster recovery, disaster psychology, fire suppression, triage, light first aid, and search and rescue. We are learning fire suppression next week so I can't imagine what we will be doing, let alone the "final" disaster.
This class is a great way to give back to your community and meet some outstanding neighbors. Everyone I have met in my class wants to help out and have fun learning! Now, this may not be exactly how we would handle a disaster (God willing, we don't have one!), but knowing what to do in an emergency and being prepared can make all the difference down the line.
If you are in Irvine, look the class up! Sometimes the membership is tight and there could be a waiting list to get into the class (only 25 people in one class at a time), but so far it has been fantastic to learn. If you aren't in Irvine, look up your city's emergency management group. If they don't have something in place, wouldn't you want one?
If you want more scoop on CERT, email me!
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