The Kiwanis Club of West Hartford has become one of the first clubs in the nation to take on the role of citizen first responders to emergencies in the State of Connecticut.
Answering President Bush's call for increased citizen participation in disaster response and recovery, the local Kiwanis chapter has developed an emergency response team whose mission is accountability and identification of emergency responders and evacuees at disasters and incidents.
The team, which is sponsored by the Town of West Hartford Emergency Management Department, has received basic training under the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program in such subjects as fire protection, light rescue, first aid and incident command procedures.
The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in California. Further, it confirmed the need for training civilians to meet their immediate needs. As a result, the LAFD created the Disaster Preparedness Division with the purpose of training citizens and private and government employees.
The training program that the LAFD initiated proved to be so beneficial that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) felt that the concept and the program should be made available to communities nationwide. In 1994, the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), in cooperation with the LAFD, expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all hazards.
In 2003, President Bush asked all Americans to volunteer in the service of their country. The Citizen Corps program was created to lead this effort to connect the power of every individual through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds. CERT was selected as one of the primary programs offered to the American public to meet this challenge.
After a disaster, first responders and other government service providers are overwhelmed. Public services cannot be delivered everywhere that help is needed. In a disaster setting, ordinary citizens make over 80% of successful rescues as they respond to the emergency in their community. However, many untrained volunteer rescuers may actually cause harm or become injured in the process.
CERTs are a ready force of organized and trained volunteer disaster workers that operate at the neighborhood level. They are prepared to be self-sustaining for three days following a large disaster.
When disaster strikes, CERT volunteers spring into action: they check on neighbors, suppress small fires, conduct light urban search and rescue, and provide emergency medical aid and psychological comfort to their neighbors.
The CERT Program prepares these volunteers with 20 hours of classroom and hands-on training. The training is provided by volunteer experts such as firefighters, EMTs, and building safety personnel.
The CERT course will benefit any citizen who takes it. This individual will be better prepared to respond to and cope with the aftermath of a disaster. Additionally, if a Kiwanis Club wants to supplement its response capability after a disaster, civilians can be recruited and trained as neighborhood teams that, in essence, will be auxiliary responders. These groups can provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster. Since 1993 when this training was made available nationally by FEMA, communities in 46 States and Puerto Rico have conducted CERT training.
The Kiwanis Club of West Hartford has completed its 20 hours of training and is preparing for their next mission-specific training which is that of Community Accountability and Identification (CAID) team. CAID training involves extensive practice with the Salamander ID Systems Program, currently being used by most regions of the state. During 9/11 over 8,000 IDs and security passes were issued at the Pentagon alone, illustrating the need for a highly skilled team. Fire Chief William H. Austin, also a member of the club, explained that “this vitally important mission will be performed by elements of 2-3 Kiwanis members working 4-8 hour shifts”. The CAID team is deployable anywhere in the state. Austin said, “The club's mission is a perfect example of how citizens can play an important role in disasters and feel good about helping their community and state during major events”.
For more information the Kiwanis Club of West Hartford, visit their website at www.westhartfordkiwanis.org or call 860.313.0101. During the year, the Kiwanis Club of West Hartford meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month and welcomes new members and guests. To find out more about the Citizen Corps and CERT training, visit www.citizencorps.gov.
