By CONNOR HOLMES
published in the Cape Coral Daily Breeze 8/22/09
Hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, terrorist attacks.
These are real things that Americans have experienced in the last decade whether nationally or on a local level.
That is why the city of Cape Coral offers residents the opportunity to learn to be prepared for these types of emergencies and others through their Community Emergency Response Team program.
The local CERT program will offer its last 8-week program of the year beginning Aug. 26 from 6:30 p.m. to about 9:30 p.m. The class is free to residents and city employees and runs once a week on Wednesday evenings.
“Now that we’re in hurricane season and the storms are starting, this would be the good time for everyone to refamiliarize themselves with disaster preparedness,” said Cape Coral Emergency Management Coordinator Mindy Blasetti. “But it’s not just a hurricane safety class, it’s for all kinds of disasters. It could be fire, tornadoes, floods. We’ve had them and we could have them again.”
After completing certification through the program, CERT members have the opportunity to volunteer for hurricane shelters, to do field work for FEMA points of distribution and to work for the Emergency Operations Center by attending events and promoting the program.
The CERT program, which began in Cape Coral in 1997, has seen about 500 people attend the program and currently has about 120 volunteers.
Though volunteering is 100 percent optional, CERT volunteers do important jobs that help emergency officials, Blasetti said.
For instance, volunteers in hurricane shelters help emergency workers from becoming overtaxed.
“It’s a great help because they’re there working in the shelters, so the fire department can be doing other things like helping people on the streets,” Blasetti said.
A large range of topics are covered in the program, including fire suppression, first aid, search and rescue, dealing with hazardous materials and others.
Betty Dill, a 30-year Cape Coral resident, completed the CERT program last fall and is a volunteer for the program.
“It makes you more capable of helping yourself and helping your neighbors out too, in case of an emergency,” Dill said. “It’s lots of fun. You get to know a lot of different people and learn a bunch of things that you didn’t get to learn when you were younger. I think everybody should take it, and see if they can’t help out their neighbors. That’s what it’s all about.”
Dill said learning about the inner workings of the fire department, the hurricane preparedness course and CPR course, offered after the completion of the program, were memorable to her.
“Frankly I’d like to see the whole city join into it,” she said.
Gail Bryant is also a certified member of CERT and a trained volunteer.
“I could not recommend it more,” Bryant said. “The staff was outstanding and they were able to answer any questions anyone had. It’s something I would love to see more people participate in.”
Bryant said her classmates ranged in age from about 19 to 70 or older.
She said not only do you learn how to react to a large-scale disaster from the program, but you receive hands-on training for small household tasks such as how to operate a fire extinguisher.
“It instills more confidence that you would actually know what to do in an emergency,” Bryant said.
Bryant learned anything from what to do if a car drives into a canal to how to handle suspicious packages containing hazardous substances.
“I was impressed with the wide scope of things that they taught us,” she said.
Bryant, an Indiana native, has shared her knowledge with co-workers and family members.
Classes take place at the Cape Coral Emergency Operations CEnter, located at 1115 S.E. 9th Ave. To join contact Blasetti at 242-3603 or email her at mblasetti@capecoral.net.
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