September marks Preparedness Month and the emergency management team from the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office is gearing up with a five-week training program for members of the community.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will host the training, which starts this Thursday. The training is free of charge and will help prepare people to help themselves, their neighbors and the community in the event of a disaster.
“As we recently saw with the flooding of Aug. 4, many homes are not as prepared as they could be or should be,” CERT Volunteer Coordinator Whitney Waterfall explained. “We saw how many came out to help and how many volunteers we had, but we really need to work together.”
The CERT training aims to inform members of the community the proper ways to respond in disaster situations such as a fire, search and rescue, and medical emergencies. Waterfall will provide some of the training while other emergency personnel, such as Price City Fire Chief Paul Bedont, will assist in teaching.
Currently, the local CERT team consists of about 40 volunteers. During many emergencies, only eight to 10 members of the team are able to respond. Waterfall explained that the team is always looking to expand and train locals regarding emergency response.
“We are providing all of the training for free,” Waterfall explained. “That is an encouraging thing because we don’t know how long it will be for free.”
While the upcoming five-week training is free, it may not always be due to limited funding.
Those interested in attending the training may call (435) 636-3740. Those who attend will also receive an emergency kit consisting of a backpack, helmet, medical supplies and more.
For organizations not able to attend the upcoming series of trainings, business or organizations of more than 10 persons can schedule their own training with the CERT team.