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WHAT IS CERT? CERT is the Community Emergency Response Teams that are trained to help communities lessen the effects of a disaster during the first 72 hours when roads, communications, power, gas service and other utilities have been disrupted and Professional Emergency Response Teams are unable to get the to the area. WHY IS THERE A NEED? Each year across the country, there are communities that fall victim to a disaster. This may be n the form of a natural disaster i.e., an Earthquake, Flooding, Blizzards, Tornado and Hurricanes. Or it may be a manmade disaster. The damage caused by disasters effect all elements of society and government. These catastrophic events: Severely restrict and overwhelm emergency response resources, communications, transportation and utilities. Leave many individuals and neighborhoods cut-off from outside support. When we hear about disasters or see them on the news, we often take the attitude it always happens to someone else, BUT: WHAT IF IT DOES HAPPEN. The purpose of the C.E.R.T training is to provide private citizens with the basic skills that they will need to handle virtually all of their needs and then to respond to their communities in the aftermath of a disaster. COURSE AGENDA WEEK 1 Disaster Preparedness Introduction to disasters, impact of disasters on infrastructures, hazards posed by buildings and non structural items, the role of CERT’s in disaster response. WEEK 2 Disaster Fire Suppression Identifying and reducing the potential fire hazards, basic fire suppression strategy, fire fighting resource, fire fighting techniques. WEEK 3 Disaster Medical Operations Part 1 Treatment strategies for life threatening conditions and principles of triage. WEEK 4 Disaster Medical Operations Part 2 Head to toe assessments, treatment for head wounds, fractures, sprain, burns and other injuries. WEEK 5 Light Search and Rescue Search & Rescue priorities and resources, techniques for size-up and search, lifting & cribbing, and victim removal. WEEK 6 Disaster & Team Organization The post-disaster emotional environment, CERT strategies, and documentation. WEEK 7 Weapons of Mass Destruction This section is new to the CERT curriculum. It is based on the events that have been taking place in past years. It talks about types on man made chemical weapons, terrorist activity and awareness in the community. WEEK 8 Course Review and Disaster Simulation. We will have a mock disaster scenario review of course material and finally a graduation ceremony. C.E.R.T. Recognized and in cooperation with the National Fire Academy Emergency Management Institute Federal Emergency Management Agency And The Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management. ---PAGE BREAK--- Murray City Fire Department Class starts on Wednesday September 23rd and Concludes on November 11th Class times are from 6:30 to 9:30 pm You may attend either class. The class duration is 8 weeks. You need only to attend one class per week. C.E.R.T For information Call Fire Inspector, George Zboril At 264-2773