CERT in Action!
Lee County, FL CERT Goes Above and Beyond
As Tropical Storm Fay approached Florida’s west coast on August 18, 2008, approximately 30 Lee County CERT volunteers worked feverishly to help residents brace for landfall. Some answered information phone lines, while others helped prepare two of the five emergency public shelters opened by Lee County Emergency Management Coordinator Josh Roberts. After Fay first hit, CERT volunteers worked and stayed in the shelters overnight to ensure the safety and well-being of some 500 residents.
A Florida-record four landfalls later, the storm was over. The CERT volunteers’ assistance, however, had only just begun. Devastating floods affected more than 200 residential units in the southern part of the county, prompting the American Red Cross to open a long-term shelter at a local community center. With the Red Cross’s resources stretched thin, Lee County CERT members stepped up again. Over the next seven weeks, 46 CERT volunteers – many of whom had returned to working full days at their regular jobs – donated their time to help ensure the safety of 600 people.
Roberts still remembers the pride he felt when he looked around the shelter each day and invariably saw green shirts and vests – the uniform of Lee County’s CERT volunteers. “I was proud that they stuck with it throughout that whole time,” he said. “It inspired me, and it inspires others to do more than just what our job description says. These folks went above and beyond.”
For more information, please contact Josh Roberts, emvolcoordinator@leegov.com.