Ron Weidmann of Centennial says it was “just like any other day” until he saw smoke coming from a home in his Smoky Hills neighborhood. Rushing to the scene, he found a distraught mother ushering two children and the family pets out of the house. “It was a three-company fire, with flames coming out of the upper-story windows. I got there just as the second hook-and-ladder truck arrived,” he remembers.
Another neighbor might not have known what to do, but Weidmann had undergone special training and knew just what was needed. While firefighters battled the blaze, he checked the family for injuries, comforted them, located the father, who rushed to the scene, and contacted the Red Cross. “I told the Red Cross what I thought the family would probably need and they got the family a check for a motel room and basic needs right away,” he says.
The training that was so helpful to Weidmann is called Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). According to Sergeant Randy Councell with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, CERT prepares people to respond to a wide variety of emergencies. CERT members, he says, give critical support to first-responders, provide immediate assistance to victims and organize volunteers at a disaster site.
CERT training is free, but it involves a major commitment. In Arapahoe County, for example, it involves 32 hours of training conducted over four weeks (some other jurisdictions conduct a shorter session). Councell says participants learn first aid, including how to “triage” injuries from the most to least serious, how to control bleeding and how to put a splint on a broken arm or leg. They learn to search a damaged building and document their findings so that emergency workers know there is no one trapped inside. They also learn “how people respond psychologically to disasters, so that they can calm and aid victims,” he says.
The final day of CERT training involves a mock disaster that includes “victims” with fake injuries. “Trainees practice hands-on application of their new knowledge and skills,” Councell says. “There, and in the field, they work right alongside first-responders.”
Since Sept. 11 and the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, Councell says, there has been growing interest in the training. “More and more people are coming to understand the importance of being prepared for emergencies,” he states.
Weidmann, who was elected to the Centennial City Council in November, says he took the training to protect his family as well as to serve the community. “Most people aren’t prepared to take care of themselves in an emergency,” he says. “You need food for three days. You need to think about things like, ‘Where would you get water? How would you survive without power? How would you flush the toilet?”‘
After graduating from CERT training, participants are organized into teams that can be called upon when first-responders need assistance. Graduates also attend practice exercises every three to four months to maintain their skills. Councell says follow-up attendance is generally good: “CERT trainees develop a strong sense of teamwork and commitment,” he says. “Many even put together a kit of emergency and medical supplies and keep it with them at all times, including when they travel, just so they’re always prepared to help others.”
Weidmann, who serves on CERT’s Arapahoe County Advisory Board, echoes Councell’s sentiments. “People who go through the training want to stay involved, to make a difference,” he says. “A real sense of camaraderie emerges during the training. There’s also a lot of competition as each team tries to do better than the other teams.”
CERT is a program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with classes taught by teams of specially trained first-responders in 14 jurisdictions across Colorado. In addition, a series of free training courses are available online. For information about the virtual courses or the CERT training nearest you, visit http:// training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/CERT.
Weidmann says he’s glad he went through the training. And, no doubt, so is the family he so competently assisted in their time of need.
