When emergency strikes in Kerr County, providing support to law enforcement and first responders is the Community Emergency Response Team. The volunteer-based group consists of members trained in multiple aspects of emergency preparedness; from installing smoke detectors to disaster medical operations.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the CERT initiative stemmed from the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985, where local volunteers completed training by 1986 and provided relief and support during natural disasters.
In 1993, CERT was recognized by FEMA as a national program and began expanding to communities across the United States.
“There’s over 2,300 CERT teams nationwide, but this one was started in 2014 under Sheriff (Rusty) Hierholzer. When I took my position in 2015, I took the program over,” said Kerr County Emergency Management Coordinator, W.B. “Dub” Thomas.
Taking the reins of the program early in its introduction in Kerr County, Thomas had to determine how the group would be trained and utilized.
“ In 2015 we started taking a look at what the CERT team could do as far as the emergency management plan in 2015 – then we kicked it off in 2016,” said Thomas.
The local CERT program is funded and operated through the Kerr County Sheriff’s Department but works with emergency departments and first responders both locally and alongside other chapters.
“We work with the VFDs, the fire department, and the police department – mostly aiding with searches and acting as a force multiplier to the Sheriff’s Office. We’ve also done sheltering for San Patricio County after Hurricane Harvey in conjunction with the American Red Cross,” said Thomas.
When preparing for an emergency, having a variety of able and trained volunteers is vital to supporting community disaster relief.
“We are actively looking to add new members. I’ve got about 70 on my email list, but not all of them are active,” said Thomas.
To become a CERT member, volunteers must be 18 years or older, pass a KCSO criminal background check, and attend a 20-hour basic training session.
“It’s a 20-hour training over a long weekend – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It covers instruction on disaster psychology, light search and rescue, two medical units, fire suppression, CERT and terrorism, and then an incident command,” said Thomas.
To keep the training and exercises fresh in CERT members’ memories, the program also holds multiple other trainings throughout the year, either as review or introducing new aspects of emergency relief.
“We do other trainings besides those throughout the year as upkeep, we’ll have trainings to do sheltering, basic life support, and ‘Stop The Bleed.’ I’m really big on the medical aspect of this training because that’s really what we’re trying to do – we’re trying to save lives,” said Thomas.
After completing the basic training, new members must attend four CERT meetings within the first six months of joining.
“Everybody has a life outside of volunteering, but we try to get folks to attend as much as possible. Some members have children in school, they’ve got faith activities in the evenings, and stuff like that, but the wider the pool of volunteers – the better,” said Thomas.
For more information regarding the local CERT chapter, www.co.kerr.tx.us/sheriff/cert/index.html.