Members of the inaugural class of the Hill County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) have concluded a team-combined 825 hours of basic training, including a full day of live search-and-rescue simulations at Lake Whitney State Park, a final exam and graduation.
The first CERT was created by the City of Los Angeles, California Fire Department in 1985 as a means to provide citizen volunteers with the knowledge and training necessary to help themselves and the community in the event of disaster.
Since then, the project has grown to encompass over 3,200 programs across the nation and is under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s community preparedness umbrella.
The team, sponsored by Hill County Emergency Management, also has been trained in storm spotting, severe weather, disaster psychology, critical incident management, basic first aid and terrorism response.
As graduates of the program, Hill County CERT members will now move on to more in-depth training, including advanced Skywarn certification by the National Weather Service, fire scene rehabilitation, public safety radio communications, CPR and AED certification, “Stop the Bleed,” crowd control and community service.
Team members will also complete three national incident command courses through the Department of Homeland Security.
“I am so proud to be part of such an awesome team,” said CERT member Tonya Gregorio of Hillsboro. “We are all from so many different backgrounds, but each one of us have love and passion for serving our community. We were brought together as volunteers, and the relationships I have built with my teammates are irreplaceable.”
CERT Program Coordinator Chris Clark added, “As the team has learned and worked together over the past many months, they have become very synchronized and are extremely dedicated to preparedness and community service.”
The next Hill County CERT class is planned for the fourth quarter of this year. For more information, email cert@co.hill.tx.us or visit the website: hillcountycert.org.
The Lakelander 