CERT Graduation!

Still catching up... Last Thursday night, I completed my eight-week CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) course through the Maple Valley Fire Department. This is a great program that I would highly recommend to anyone who is interested in becoming more prepared to give valuable service in the case of a natural disaster or other emergency situation (e.g., fire, explosion, etc.). It is available in many communities nationwide, so check with your local fire department if you're interested!

In reality, in the case of a natural disaster, the local fire department wouldn't likely get to your neighborhood within at least the first three days. That's way too late for people who either (1) are unprepared to be stuck at home that long or (2) have been critically injured. CERT is a small "army" of trained citizen volunteers who can provide leadership in the critical period after a disaster hits (and before professional help arrives). It's part of the U.S. Freedom Corps volunteer initiative, through the Citizen Corps branch. And the best part -- the training is FREE! Still, it's a big investment of time, and a sacrifice for the family at home, so I'm glad it's done. For now, at least, I have my Thursday evenings back!

Here's a short list of some of the things we learned:

• Disaster preparedness
• Disaster medical (including triage and treatment of critical injuries)
• Light search and rescue
• Light fire suppression
• Disaster psychology

On top of the empowerment I feel from knowing how to act in a disaster and how to lead others, I feel a sense of personal fulfillment in volunteering for something in my community -- something that has eluded me but that I've wanted to do for a while.