The City of Salisbury, NC

Rowan County's First CERT class graduates!

While attending Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, Janet Smith thought often about the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

A Red Cross volunteer who lives in the Atwell community, she remembered seeing the damage and all those in need of help.

Before she and her husband, Grey, attended CERT training, "I'd be the one standing back and watching," she said.

In future times of need, she may have a different role.

The Smiths were two of 17 graduates of the county's first CERT team training held at the Salisbury Fire Department on Innes Street.

Instruction culminated in a disaster drill in East Spencer Monday.

CERT, a community-based group funded through Homeland Security grants, trains citizens to take care of themselves and others following disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, winter storms or man-made disasters.

"In a mass disaster situation, emergency services will be taxed," said Salisbury Fire Capt. Marshall Moore. "The communities are better off having CERT there."

Moore said he has targeted community group leaders in promoting CERT. The next class likely will be made up of residents from the Westcliffe community, he said.

During the nine-week course, instructors teach subjects ranging from emergency preparedness to disaster psychology and light search and rescue.

After the mock twister touched down in East Spencer Monday, the CERT sprung into action.

Wearing hard hats and safety vests and wielding flashlights, team members rotated through four stations during the tornado scenario.

The practice drilled their recollection of damage assessment, fire suppression, medical assistance and light search and rescue.

One station required them to scour three homes on Long Street and find and assess bodies inside the rubble. Another called for them to assess the medical needs of patients brought from those homes.

Class member Leon Hand, a long-time volunteer firefighter, has experience in similar situations.

For CERT students with no emergency situation training, "they tell you what you need to know to help your local police and fire departments in these situations," he said.

Instructors for the first CERT program included Capt. Moore, Todd Overcash, Bobby Burleson, Doug Stevenson, Wayne Harkey, Tamra Earnhardt, Carol Dellinger and Ron Herion.

Once established, CERT teams are community-based and can activate themselves in a disaster situation.

During the final class Monday, Salisbury Fire Department Capt. Marshall Moore said he was trying to coordinate continuing education for graduates.

The class went "real well," Moore said. "We got a good response ."

Anyone interested in CERT training can call Capt. Moore at 704-638-5351. If there are no open spots in the next class, Moore will put names on a list for future classes, he said. He hopes to eventually hold four per year.

The only requirement is that the participant is at least 18 years old.

Contact Jonathan Weaver at 704-797-4266 or jweaver@salisburypost.com.

Click here for a CERT application:

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