Free emergency preparedness training offered on Grand Island

Eight-week community preparedness course to take place at Grand Island Fire Company

Border Community SERVICE of Niagara University will host a free CERT training course, beginning on Sept. 15 at the Grand Island Fire Co., located at 2275 Baseline Road on Grand Island. CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training is a community preparedness course that includes both academic and hands-on instruction.

The classes will run for eight consecutive Thursdays from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and culminate in a disaster simulation on Saturday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. CERT training prepares participants to help themselves, their families and neighbors in the event of a catastrophic disaster. 

CERT training topics include:

• Disaster preparedness: disasters and disaster workers, community preparedness
• Emergency medical operations I: triage and treating life-threatening injuries
• Emergency medical operations II: public health considerations and patient treatment
• Fire safety: fire chemistry, hazards, safety and suppression
• Light search and rescue: search and rescue size up and operations
• CERT team organization and incident command system (ICS 100)
• Disaster psychology: impact of disaster on rescuers and victims and its mitigation
• Terrorism and CERT: terrorism and its goals, CERT protocols for terrorism
• Disaster simulation training exercise: course review and hands-on exercise

Participants must be at least 16 years old and plan to attend all sessions.

The mission of Border Community SERVICE (Special Emergency Response Volunteer Initiative for Community Empowerment) of Niagara University is to provide emergency preparedness training to citizens and to encourage their participation in opportunities that enhance regional emergency readiness. Border Community SERVICE training for citizen volunteers includes CERT and MYN (Map Your Neighborhood).

For more information or to enroll in the training, contact Valerie Haseley, Niagara County project coordinator, at 716.286.8023.  To register online, visit www.niagara.edu/bcs-enrollment.