The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office will sponsor an academy in September for people interested in joining the Community Emergency Response Team.
The CERT program began in 2007, and to date more than 150 people have received training. The program is part of an effort to increase disaster preparedness awareness in the county by having a group of trained individuals capable of assisting themselves, their families and neighbors in the event of a disaster, according to a Sheriff's Office news release.
CERT training promotes a partnership between local emergency services and the people they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to help representatives of neighborhoods, community organizations and workplaces develop basic response skills.
CERT members are then integrated into the area's emergency response capability. If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays professional responders, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills they learned during the training.
Upon completing the training and application process, individuals will be registered as CERT volunteers with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office. Registered volunteers are required to participate in monthly disaster preparedness training activities to maintain their volunteer status.
CERT Academy training is scheduled:
• Sept. 16, 6 to 8 p.m., Emergency Preparedness and CERT Organization
• Sept. 17, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Fire Safety, Medical Operations
• Sept. 23, 6 to 10 p.m., Light Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology
• Sept. 24, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Terrorism, Course Review, Disaster Simulation
Training sessions will be held in the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Training Room, 330 Fair Lane, Building A, Placerville.
Those interested in attending the Academy should call Bob Todd, academy coordinator, (530) 644-6955, or email tcharles_2@netzero.net, or call OES Deputy Matt Cathey, (530) 621-7660, or email catheym@edso.org.
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