If there was a wildfire or other disaster, could you give someone emergency assistance?
The San Diego County Fire Community Emergency Response Team (SDCF CERT) is offering a free hybrid training course so volunteers can be prepared to aid others.
The course consists of individual online training followed by two days of in-person training. In Ramona, the in-person training will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 and Aug. 8 at the Ramona Community Library, 1275 Main St.
During a disaster, volunteers can assist others by applying the basic emergency response and organizational skills they learn during the free training, organizers said.
Topics covered will include disaster preparedness, CERT organization, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, fire safety and utility controls, light search and rescue operations, and terrorism.
After completion of the unit lessons, participants can take a course review, final exam and participate in a disaster simulation.
Courtesy San Diego County Fire CERT
Participants in a Hybrid CERT Training course are asked to pre-register so they can receive a link to complete the online portion of training before the in-person sessions. (Courtesy San Diego County Fire CERT)
SDCF CERT Coordinator Teresa Greenhalgh will be one of the instructors along with Bill Leininger, who is a medical doctor, and Darren Greenhalgh, a licensed civil engineer.
SDCF CERT is one of the most active CERT programs in the county, having completed 17 disaster response deployments since June 2016, Teresa Greenhalgh said.
The team of volunteers went to Butte County in the Sierra Nevada foothills to help during the Camp fire in Paradise, she said. That fire started in November 2018 and the aid response was deployed from mid-December until the end of January 2019, she said.
The team helped with disaster recovery by aiding the American Red Cross and animal shelters, and by distributing essential supplies and replacing lost items for fire victims at the Hope distribution center, she said.
“We’ve set up points of distribution during public safety power shutoff events,” Greenhalgh said. “We were handing out water and blankets.”
Courtesy San Diego County Fire CERT
Trained volunteers can help with disaster response deployments. (Courtesy San Diego County Fire CERT)
SDCF CERT, which is offering the free training, serves the backcountry communities across San Diego County, Greenhalgh said.
“We cover everything except the small fire protection district areas and the cities,” she said.
A link to the online training will be provided upon registration. Participants must complete the online portion before attending the two days of in-person training.
Pre-registration is required. For information, call or text Greenhalgh at 619-857-8050 or email her at Teresa.Greenhalgh@sdcounty.ca.gov.