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Milton
Township Citizens Corps Council
C.E.R.T. Team
(Community Emergency Response Team) |
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Several
months ago, Milton Township formed a Citizens Corps Council
under the guidance of FEMA and the Department of Homeland
Security that would be maintained by Milton Township. One
of the goals of this council was to help identify organized
groups and individuals that could assist not only themselves,
but also their neighbors and the township in time of major
disasters.
For a free Guide Click On the Book |
The council is identifying several areas such
as faith based groups, police/fire explorer scout groups as
well as the general township population that might be willing
to undergo specialized training in order to be prepared for
a major disaster.
Under the Milton Township Citizens Corps Council, members have
undergone training as trainers for the CERT (Community Emergency
Response Team) program that was initiated by FEMA and the Department
of Homeland Security. Additionally, the council hopes to cooperate
with programs such as VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service) and
MRC (Medical Reserve Corps).
It is a widely accepted fact that if a major disaster should
befall an area, normal response by emergency workers such as
police, fire and medical, may be delayed for as much as three
(3) days, depending on the severity of the disaster. Part of
the reason for this delay is because surrounding areas may also
be affected and personnel that would normally respond may be
either directly affected or their families may be affected.
CERT was designed for individuals and groups to undergo special
training in order to fill this potential void and to be able
to help themselves and their neighbors should the need arise.
Additionally, because of the training, these individuals or
groups would also be ready to assist the local emergency management
agency by providing trained people to assist in the local community's
response.
The CERT program involves training in Disaster Preparedness,
Fire Safety/Suppression, Disaster Medical Operations (triage
assessment, treatment and hygiene), Light Search and Rescue,
Team Organization, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism, Debris Removal
and Victim Extrication, Traffic/Crowd Control and Communications.
CERT, in many ways reflects back to the time of Civil Defense.
Many of the concepts of CERT have a direct relationship to those
times. We at Milton Township want to insure that our community
is capable of helping themselves in almost any situation for
a period of time until professional help can arrive.
In order to accomplish this, we are in the process of forming
CERT Teams in Milton Township. These teams will be comprised
of groups or individuals that have a common interest in helping
the community. Training under the CERT program takes about 21
hours of instruction and practice. This is a large commitment
for individuals to make, but a minor one when you consider the
alternatives.
We want the residents of our community to be ready to help themselves
or the local fire and police departments.
Milton Township has over 500 volunteers thus far. There is no cost to the individuals residing or working in the Township for this training
or for the purchase of supplies to equip members or teams. That
cost is borne by donations, the federal, and local government programs.
We are reaching out to you, the Milton Township Citizens to
participate in the next set of training. Classes are scheduled year round and you can click the calander above for class dates
After the training is completed, the Milton Township Citizen
Corps will keep you involved periodically by offering you participation
in some of their activities so that both your skills and interest
will be maintained. Should you desire any additional information
regarding this program or others that have been mentioned, you
can go on-line at www.Ready.gov, call Ralph at 630-668-1616, or e-mail at miltoncorps2@aol.com______________________________________________________________________
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