Island CERT stands ready for hurricane season
Officials predict another active hurricane season, but Pine Island agencies and organizations are ready to face anything Mother Nature may throw our way this summer. According to a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there is a 70 percent likelihood that during the 2011 hurricane season the Atlantic basin will see 11 named storms, six hurricanes and two major hurricanes, which are defined as category 3, 4, or 5 with winds of 111 miles per hour or stronger.
Having learned valuable lessons at the hand of Hurricane Charley in 2004, the Matlacha-Pine Island Fire Department has come a long way with regard to training for unforeseeable emergency. In addition to continual training, the fire department also has spent countless hours training island residents to assist before, during and after an emergency. At this time approximately 40 citizens from all parts of the island have received specialized CERT training and are prepared to assist as first responders.
“The training is intended to teach individuals to be prepared at all times and then to be equipped to help themselves, their families and perhaps their neighbors in an emergency situation,” said MPIFCD Chief David Bradley. “CERT training also enables these citizens to be well equipped to respond and to determine what they can or shouldn’t do until professional emergency responders arrive.”
The Community Response Team, or CERT, program was introduced to island residents shortly after Hurricane Charley and involves specialized training both in the classroom and during field exercises. Among the skills CERT volunteers acquire during this training are fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, traffic control and disaster medical operations, which will enable them to assist others within their neighborhoods or at the workplace.
This training will enable the volunteer to provide emergency assistance while awaiting the arrival of professional emergency responders such as the fire department. Training generally involves classroom sessions that take place one evening a week over a period of seven weeks. Sessions include lessons on fire chemistry, hazardous materials and fire suppression and incorporates the safe use of fire extinguishers, controlling utilities and how to safely extinguish small fires. As for preparing for a medical emergency, volunteers are trained to first perform a head-to-toe assessment of an injured person and establish the cause and location of the individuals injuries. Basic first aid includes treating airway obstructions, bleeding and how to treat shock.
As for light search and rescue, lessons are geared toward developing a rescue plan by first sizing up the situation followed by employing search techniques. Finally the participants in the CERT program put their skills to use during a mock emergency.
Each CERT participant is issued safety equipment that they are asked to have available at all times. This equipment includes gloves, goggles or a mask, bandages, flashlight and dressings.
Among the first trainees with the Pine Island CERT group is Bokeelia resident Paul Baumann.
“As a retired police officer, I have always liked helping people, so when I learned about the CERT program I signed up for training during the next available session,” Baumann said. “Hurricane Charley taught us all the importance of being prepared and the CERT training not only helps us to help ourselves but to help our neighbors in a professional manner as well and I encourage anyone who is able to get the training.”
For more information about the CERT on Pine Island, call Fire Station #1 at 283-0030.