CERT in Action!
Teen CERT Member Saves Elderly Woman from Fire
A 13-year-old girl who received CERT training through her Girl Scout troop in Missouri saved an elderly woman from a fire in her home in April 2011.
Alexis Becker, a Cadette Girl Scout and St. Charles County Teen CERT member, was at home playing outside when she heard screams. Alexis followed the sound of the screaming to the home of an elderly neighbor. She didn't know the neighbor but noticed signs of fire coming from the house, so she convinced the woman to leave her home. The fire started when the woman mistakenly put an electric crockpot on her stove's heating element.
The woman was in a state of shock and had not yet called 911 despite the evident signs of a fire, so Alexis called the fire department for her. The woman was also reluctant to leave her home without her dog, but Alexis remained calm and convinced her to leave the house, promising to try to get the dog out safely as well. Alexis knew from her CERT training that it would be unsafe to re-enter the house, so she called for the dog from the front door, and fortunately, the dog quickly came outside to safety as well. The fire department soon came to extinguish the blaze. The woman and her dog were unharmed, and her home had survived with only minor damage.
Alexis told Mark Rosenblum, program director for the St. Charles County Teen CERT, that she would not have known what to do if had not been for the CERT training she received through her Girl Scout troop. In fact, Alexis Becker had just completed her CERT training in March 2011 before she was called into service to help her elderly neighbor. Rosenblum said, "My wife calls it my volunteer full-time job, but it's worth it if even one kid goes to the CERT training and saves somebody's life."
For more information, contact Mark Rosenblum at mark.rosenblum@juno.com.