The focus of last night’s CERT training was fire safety.  The instructor, a captain from the Charlottesville Fire Department, went over the basics of fire safety and displayed three kinds of fire extinguishers that are commonly used.   Lessons learned from the session included the following:

• Never fight a fire unless you are certain that you have an escape route.  In most cases, the best action is to close any doors or windows and get out.
• Be aware that a burning fire can contain harmful gasses.
• When the fire fighters arrive, fill them in on important information, such as the location of the fire and whether any people are trapped.

Taking CERT training is a good way to assess disaster risks for your area. For instance, at my first CERT class I learned of the following risks for the Charlottesville area:

Earthquakes
Hurricanes (most likely tropical force winds when they reach our area)
Tornadoes (worst toradoes have been F1 in the Fujita Scale)
Flooding
Severe Winter Storms (greatest risk)
Hazmat incidents (includes the North Anna Nuclear Plant Plan-90% of Albemarle County is within 50 miles of the plant)
Terrorism

Last night I attended my first CERT training class. CERT is an acronym for Community Emergency Response Team and was formed in 1985 by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Since 1993, the program has been made available through FEMA. CERT’s primary mission is to train citizens to help other citizens during a disaster.

I highly encourage anyone interested in disaster response or preparedness to take this training. CERT training is free, and is designed for people of all ages. Visit CERT to find a CERT training program in your area.