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Local New York Community holds emergency preparedness response classes | 01.15.2007 | 06:25:43 | Views: 5398 | ID: January 15: Local residents in Amherst, New York will be able to attend a series of classes over a four-week period that will focus on community disaster response and preparedness, the Amherst Record reported. The classes, 20 hours in total, will work with the local Amherst Department of Emergency Services and Safety with the sponsorship of the Department of Homeland Security's Community Emergency Response Team program (CERT). Specifically, the CERT program is funded by the DHS' Corporation for National and Community Service and the Border Community SERVICE (Special Emergency Response Volunteer Initiative for Community Education.) The Amherst Record reported a growing interest in the area for the community-led response and preparedness teams after the "October Surprise" snow storm in 2006 which dumped two feet of snow over parts of the area and state leaving many without power and utilities for weeks. The classes will have nine topics, "covering disaster preparedness, fire safety, basic first aid, assessment and treatment skills, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness, and a hands-on disaster simulation as a final exercise," the Amherst Record reported. The last class's 22 alumni helped during the October Surprise storm and local officials think there will be about 30 people for the next class. Those trained in the last class were able to help community emergency services and first responders as well as Red Cross volunteers after the snow had fallen. Dominic Creamer, a firefighter for Amherst County told the Record, "The more people we can get who know what to do in an emergency, the better off we are. ... The training was extremely beneficial in the recent emergency."
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