Costa Mesa Hosts SoCal Emergency Response Workshop

Costa Mesa hosts first multi-agency Community Emergency Response Team workshop

Posted Date: 3/13/2014

 

Costa Mesa recently hosted the inaugural Southern California Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Workshop to connect, coordinate and train CERT instructors and program managers and to create more resilient communities.

More than 100 CERT programs throughout California were represented at the daylong event that was coordinated by Brenda Emrick, the Costa Mesa Fire Department's community education and CERT program manager.

Training courses included advanced programs, instructor development and crisis communications. As the host city, Costa Mesa was assisted by its own CERT program volunteers—Dottie Garrett, Bobbie Bradley and Cindy Brenneman—who helped organize and register the nearly 160 participants.
The event was sponsored by CaliforniaVolunteers, a state office that manages programs and initiatives aimed at increasing the number of Californians engaged in service and volunteering.
CERT educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
(Pictured in photo from left: Mike Staley, CaliforniaVolunteers; Chad Fitzgerald, State Workgroup Co-Chair, Clovis Fire Department; Wilson Lee, State Workgroup Co-Chair, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department; Costa Mesa Fire Chief Dan Stefano; and  Brenda Emrick, Costa Mesa CERT coordinator.)

 

CERT workshop volunteers (from left): Brenda Emrick, Dottie Garrett, Bobbie Bradley, Cindy Brenneman, Erica Arteseros (San Francisco CERT program manager), and Carol Parker (Menlo Park Fire District CERT program manager).