|
 Hunter and Pam Goldsby are forming the Custer County Emergency Response Team (CERT), with training planned for volunteers in September.
By ELLEN MORTENSEN
Chief Assistant Editor
No one likes to think about disasters, but the fact is they do occur. In the past decade Americans have been faced with a host of unimaginable disasters such as devastating hurricanes, tornadoes and terrorist attacks, just to name a few.
When disaster strikes, emergency professionals are quick to respond. And now a new program is being put in to place to assist those professionals by freeing them up to concentrate more on their area of expertise.
It is called the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT); a program designed to educate volunteers about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area, and train them in basic disaster response skills. Some of those skills include fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, confirmed the need for training civilians to meet the immediate needs of a major disaster. As a result, the LAFD created the Disaster Prepar-edness Division with the purpose of training citizens and private and government employees.
Since then CERT teams have formed all across the country, with thousands of volunteers receiving emergency training. Hunter and Pam Goldsby, of Berwyn, are among those numbers who have gone through the program.
As an employee of the Broken Bow Police Department, Pam has had an opportunity to see first-hand a need for this type of program locally. After completing the training themselves, the couple was inspired to implement a CERT team in Custer County.
Training for the CERT program involves a 20-hour course, with professionals providing information and skills training to interested volunteers.
“If anyone has ever thought about being an EMT or fire fighter, but they don’t have the time to devote to the training, this is a good alternative,” Pam explained.
CERT team members are not trained to operate in place of fire, rescue and other professional personnel, but rather to assist them. Duties such as crowd control, and search and rescue, are the kinds of areas the CERT team might help with.
As a national program, all CERT volunteers are trained under FEMA guidelines, which means once trained the volunteers can be called to any area of the country and know what to do, because they all operate the same. The Custer County CERT team will operate under the direct leadership of Custer County Emergency Manage-ment Director Troy Smith.
In that position, it will be Troy who will dispatch the team when needed. CERT members will not be authorized to respond to an emergency unless called out by Smith.
In the event of an emergency, a disaster, or any other event that may require additional manpower, Smith will call local CERT team leaders Hunter and Pam Goldsby. These leaders will, in turn, call the team members and inform them where and when to report.
To make them easily identifiable, CERT team members will be required to wear green vests and hats. They are trained to work together as a team, with the goal of finding and assisting as many people as possible.
“This is no place for a ‘Rambo’. We work together as a team, and always follow the rules of safety,” said Smith.
The training includes only minimal first-aid and fire training. Those situations, Pam explained, are left for the trained professionals to handle.
The CERT program is a branch of the Citizen Corps, and all government funding goes through that branch. Smith explains that the state of Nebraska is split into regions, with Custer County falling in to the North Central region. The North Central also happens to be the largest region in the state, encompassing 22 counties.
With such a large area and limited government funding available, more money is needed to assist with the purchase of supplies and equipment for the Custer County CERT team. Team members are provided with backpacks containing some of the necessary tools and equipment.
These backpacks contain just the bare necessities that may be needed in a disaster operation. The local group would like to upgrade these backpacks and provide more equipment to its volunteers.
Pam says they would also eventually like to obtain a blood hound, a four-wheeler and long range walkie-talkies. A fund has been set up through the Custer County Foundation for donations to the Custer County CERT team.
Classes for the CERT volunteers are planned for sometime in September. Smith says a number of individuals have already expressed interest in the training, and anyone else interested can fill out an application. He says a background check will be performed on each applicant. If you are interested in becoming part of the Custer County CERT team, contact Carol at 872-6424, or Troy at 872-3349 to register.
Both Troy and Pam are excited about the opportunities this new team can provide the local area.
“This fulfills a huge gap in volunteerism in this county,” says Smith. “With this structure, Pam and Hunter can set up groups to help and organize those volunteers. There are so many things this county needs that this group can take care of.” |
Huskers.com
