Emergency Training Puts Local Volunteers to the Test

With the proper training, anyone can be a life saver. 

At least, that’s the rationale behind the Westshore Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — a volunteer unit comprised of average Joes  trained to activate at a moment’s notice in the event of disasters or widespread emergencies. 

In this case, the emergency was fictitious, but the exercise offered insights on how to approach and contain a riot scenario. 

The setting was ’s . The story was that a controversial film had premiered at the theater, causing a widespread riot, injuries and looting. 

For the exercise, several CERT volunteers were activated as first responders to cordon off dangerous environments, treat victims, contain the situation and transfer command to professional responders as they arrived. 

“I think having a community with people who can take care of themselves and help their neighbors and know these skills is advantageous for any community because mitigation is everyone’s responsibility on every level of society,” CERT director Tricia Granfors said. “Not just the federal government, not just counties, states and cities, but also our business and our residents all have to be on board.” 

CERT volunteers Jim Maskel and Emece Blankenship were eager for the day’s training that they had prepared for since April. 

“In an emergency situation, you need to be reactive,” Blankenship said. “And exercises like the one today bring real-life situations into focus because you get a firsthand feel for how chaotic certain situations can be, but the training shows you how to keep a level head despite all that may be going on around you.” 

Since every team was evaluated on-site during the training session, Granfors and her colleagues will analyze the data to see how well the volunteers reacted, which will offer insight on what can be improved upon to help prepare the CERT volunteers for real emergencies.