The basic CERT course is offered on Vashon in two parts:
Part One - Intro to Disaster Response Skills for Citizens
Four Sundays, TENTATIVELY Sept 10 - Oct 1, 2023 from 9:00 to 4:00 each day at main Vashon fire station
TOPICS:
Household preparedness for disasters when many local services, communications and transportation would be compromised
Light fire fighting including how to extinguish different types of fires
Prevention of home fires and electrical safety issues
Propane and natural gas safety
Introduction to generators
Light rescue techniques: cribbing; searching inside a building
First aid and patient care for wounds large and small, broken bones, shock, etc.
Carrying an injured person, both with a sturdy litter designed for this and with makeshift gear that might be all you have in a disaster
Part Two: Team organization and response on Vashon Island
TENTATIVELY Sundays, Oct 8-29, 2023 from 9:00 to 4:00 each day at main Vashon fire station
PRE-REQUISITE: Part One (above) or previous CERT training on Vashon or elsewhere
TOPICS:
Organizing a CERT team for neighborhood or island disaster response; we'll run a simulated earthquake response (a short drill)
How Vashon CERT works, its roles and functions; the types of incidents for which we can serve
How you can be part of Vashon CERT or support the island's disaster response planning efforts in other ways
Sign-up required; please email CERT@VashonBePrepared.org and expect a confirmation (if you don't get one, email or call again)
Cost: free (courtesy of the volunteer team that is Vashon CERT and with much support from Vashon Island Fire & Rescue)
Participants provide: small amount of personal equipment: medium to light-duty work gloves, mask, work clothes and gear for whatever weather we have on the outdoor days, safety glasses, your own lunch each day, knee pads for first aid practice if you want some knee protection
Participant guidelines: no symptoms of Covid or other infections diseases, face mask required (N95 preferred), sober, alert, follow instructions, quiet your cell phone, tie back long hair for skill sessions , wear clothing that can't easily get caught in supplies/equipment we'll be using, and able to attend most sessions of the course (make-up sessions are tough for us to arrange)
Physical requirements: nothing in particular is required, but be awarre that most skills involve walking and carrying gear, some involve kneeling, one skill involves crawling. Some time each week is spent in the classroom, sitting in chairs (but we work hard not to bore you with lectures!)
Who are the instructors? The Fire Chief, assistant chiefs and officers with Vashon Fire & Rescue, plus the seasoned volunteers who lead and manage the Vashon CERT team and participate with other leaders within VashonBePrepared
Lunch breaks and daily schedule: Class may end before 4:00 on some days. A one-hour lunch will be on your own, an the exact timing will vary a bit from week to week.
Each part limited to 24 adults. We are unable to train youth under 18 years at this time