Woodbury launches emergency response program for residents
The Woodbury City Council discussed the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program, which trains local residents to assist during emergencies. The initiative has already engaged over 60 residents in its first year and aims to build community resilience when disasters strike.
The Woodbury Community Emergency Response Team is a training program designed to prepare residents for emergencies by teaching them practical skills they can use to help their neighbors and support public safety officials during crises. The program covers basic disaster preparedness, emergency first aid, and resilience training, with the goal of empowering residents to respond quickly and effectively when emergencies occur.
Since launching, the CERT program has successfully recruited and trained more than 60 residents from Woodbury and surrounding communities. The Woodbury Fire Department plays a key role in the program, providing basic first aid courses that teach members critical skills like tourniquet application and pressure dressing techniques.
Beyond classroom training, the CERT team has been active in the community. Members recently assisted at the public safety tent during Woodbury Days, a local community event, where they engaged with residents and raised awareness about the program's mission.
The program represents a community-focused approach to emergency preparedness, recognizing that trained residents can make a meaningful difference during disasters by providing immediate assistance before professional emergency responders arrive. The strong initial participation suggests growing interest among Woodbury residents in becoming better prepared to help during emergencies.
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Source document
[0:01] CERT stands for Community
Emergency Response Team
[0:03] and essentially
what we're trying to do
[0:05] is train residents
of our community
[0:07] and surrounding communities
to respond
[0:09] and help public services
during an emergency.
[0:11] Things like sandbagging,
providing logistical support,
[0:14] tracking first responders.
[0:16] We train our residents
who sign up to do this.
[0:19] Joining the CERT program
[0:20] I learned
[0:21] not only how to prepare
[0:22] for disasters myself, but able
to assist the first responders.
[0:26] We are super excited to offer
[0:28] quite a few units
within the CERT program.
[0:30] We teach people basic
preparedness for their homes,
[0:32] things like how to build
an emergency kit,
[0:35] how to
[0:35] create a emergency location
[0:37] if your home is no longer
inhabitable.
[0:39] How to find sheltering
locations.
[0:41] We all know disasters
can be incredibly traumatic,
[0:44] and so teaching you resilience
as well as providing
[0:47] that resilience
for those in your life.
[0:49] And then perhaps my most
[0:50] favorite is our basic first
aid course.
[0:52] We teach about how to use
a tourniquet,
[0:53] how to apply pressure dressings,
taught by our own Woodbury
[0:57] Fire Department.
[0:58] It was great to have
a police officer here talking
[1:01] firsthand what he sees.
[1:02] We really learned if there is
[1:04] an emergency in the community,
how to step in, how to act,
[1:07] act quick, fast
and take action immediately.
[1:11] We were super lucky
to have a ton
[1:13] of really engaged residents of
our community want to do this.
[1:15] Over 60 just for our first year.
[1:17] I really wanted to be involved
[1:19] in my community
and to support the EMS, fire
[1:23] department, police department
and just overall support.
[1:27] Having an actual first responder
go through it, being able
[1:30] to do everything
and getting the hands on.
[1:31] It's a great experience.
[1:32] Our CERT team does
quarterly trainings ongoing,
[1:36] on a variety of topics
getting certified in CPR, doing
[1:40] stop the bleed training.
[1:41] we actually have
the National Weather Service
[1:43] also coming in and teach a sky
warn class to allow our CERT
[1:47] team members to be
more weather aware and prepare
[1:49] for natural disasters
in our community.
[1:51] It's fun to participate
in the community events.
[1:53] We did have our CERT team
at Woodberry Days
[1:56] and they were just
[1:57] assisting our public safety
tent,
[1:59] engaging with the local
residents of Woodbury,
[2:01] and then also providing addition
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