Whitfield County, Ga., recertified for CERT grant
This marks third year Whitfield has received the grant
For the third year, the Whitfield County Emergency Management Agency has been awarded a state grant for volunteer emergency response training.
Over the past two years, local officials have already trained 89 volunteers to be a part of the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, which helps respond in the aftermath of major disasters, natural or man-made.
—Disaster fire suppression
—Disaster medical operations
—Light search and rescue operations
—Disaster psychology and team organization
terrorism
—Disaster simulation skills review
The new $8,000 grant—with the remaining $1,250 from the 2010 grant—will be used to purchase training materials, field response guide books, CERT response kits that include personal protective gear and other items needed for response; contract instructors; hotel and travel expenses to attend mandatory training; and other training supplies used for the program. It will also pay for continuing education classes for current CERT members.
The Whitfield County commissioners voted 3-0 Monday afternoon during a specially called meeting to approve the funding of $9,250 for the CERT/Homeland Security grant that will later be 100 percent reimbursed by the Georgia EMA with no match requirements.
“CERT is a volunteer program,” said Jeff Ownby, deputy 911 director who helps oversee the training. “They don’t have to have any background; they just have to have a willingness to help, basically. We provide all the training, all the equipment you need.”
He said that CERT’s mission is threefold: to educate civilians about emergency preparedness, to teach them how to help themselves during and after an emergency and to certify them as CERT responders to help EMA and other emergency personnel during a crisis or disaster.
The first classes of 2012 will be held April 14, 15 and 21 for eight hours each day.
To download an application, click here. The application can be turned in to local officials.
Classes are taught by emergency responders, including firefighters, emergency medical personnel and law enforcement personnel from the community.
