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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Volunteer Month Spotlight: Community Emergency Response Team


Three years ago I enrolled in an eight-week program to be trained as a member of a local Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). CERT members are intended to supplement, not replace, first responders in an emergency situation, which could include anything from a natural disaster, act of terrorism, or major accident such as a plane crash to searching for a missing person. The curriculum, delivered by the Rochester Fire Department at the Public Safety Training Facility (where MCC's Public Safety Training Center is located), covered first aid, urban search and rescue, triaging injuries, fire suppression, and more. Since completing the training, I have participated in a few disaster or missing person simulations and attended refresher training and planning meetings through the South East Area Coalition. I highly recommend CERT training as both interesting and worthwhile. Shortly after completing the training I used my first aid skills when I found a family member unconscious after a seizure--and was grateful that I was better prepared to respond.

Marilyn Rosche, Program Director
AmeriCorps
04/21/2006