Community Emergency Response Team

Fourteen residents of the Highland Neighborhood recently received CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training.  The CERT class, led by representatives from FEMA, included sessions on the types of disasters most likely to occur in our area; disaster assessment techniques; basic firefighting, medical triage and basic first aid; light search and rescue; and CERT organization.  In addition to classroom training, class participants worked together on hypothetical disaster scenarios and studied about terrorism.  For their participation the class members received a CERT backpack with basic disaster response tools. The group continues to meet monthly for planning and training. 

CERT groups are trained to respond to major disasters in which traditional first responders are expected to be overwhelmed or unable to respond to an area for hours or days.  CERT groups are only activated upon request of local or state disaster emergency management groups.  The Highland Neighborhood CERT group is the first CERT group to be trained in Belleville.  Jennifer Gain, Emergency Response Coordinator for Belleville is encouraging other neighborhood groups in Belleville to follow the HNA example and hold CERT trainings.  If you are interested in CERT training and are a resident of the HNA, contact Jim Bryant (jbryant@highlandneighborhood.org).  Belleville residents outside of the HNA who are interested in starting a CERT group should contact Jennifer Gain, City of Belleville (jgain@belleville.net) or Dale Yonker, Citizen Corps Coordinator (yonkercd@sbcglobal.net).