Everyday heroes: Santa Rosa County relaunching citizen-led disaster response team

Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal
·3 min read

Editor's note: This story has been updated to provide the correct date for the kick-off meeting.

For those with a heart to serve and a want to be prepared for any future emergencies, Santa Rosa County is restoring its Community Emergency Response Team for anyone wishing to train in emergency response.

Arc Thames, Santa Rosa Emergency Management alternate logistics section chief and assistant citizen corps coordinator, said CERT involves citizens helping keep the community safe and prepared for any emergencies that may arise.

"(CERT) was originally founded in 1993 out of the Los Angeles Fire Department and is designed around the idea that a community of volunteers that trained together can help respond to emergencies in their local area," Thames said. "So, it's grown beyond that, and Santa Rosa County still has a CERT program in Navarre and they had one previously in Pace but that one unfortunately disbanded awhile back.

"So, we're bringing (CERT) back together now county-wide so that it will be available from the north end to the south end," he added.

Santa Rosa County is preparing to begin training a county-wide Community Emergency Response Team, a collective of training volunteers who can provide support to citizens and first responders during natural disasters, major accidents, search and rescue operations, and other emergencies.
Santa Rosa County is preparing to begin training a county-wide Community Emergency Response Team, a collective of training volunteers who can provide support to citizens and first responders during natural disasters, major accidents, search and rescue operations, and other emergencies.

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CERT is meant as a support system for first responders, disaster relief and general public welfare initiatives that engages the community and educates residents in disaster response, emergency response and first aid.

"The volunteers will be trained in basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, search and rescue, and disaster medical so they can respond to disaster situations post-hurricane, but it could be anything," Thames said. "It could be a train derailment, it could be a chemical spill and what not. It's really designed to have this pool of volunteers who can help in any situation."

CERT also allows Santa Rosa County employees the opportunity to engage with their fellow residents, said Logistics Section Chief Tim Trowbridge, who pushed to implement the county-wide program.

"One of the things I've always enjoyed doing is working with the community," Trowbridge told the News Journal. "This is one of the things when I started over here I saw an opportunity to interact with the community, to be able to not only share with the community what emergency management does but also utilize some people that have the skills in this area to help us out with emergency events."

CERT doesn't just promote community engagement, but it "also trains them how to be better prepared as an individual" when disasters arrive.

"CERT isn't just about volunteering in the community," Thames said. "It's also for those who are really wanting to help in their personal readiness for disasters — even if they don't want to volunteer and help out in public events and those sorts of things."

As CERT begins to rollout during 2023, Santa Rosa is asking residents to join and help. Thames said there are currently 18 people signed up, but that his ideal number would be between 50 and 100 volunteers "because we have to be able to cover the county from the north end to the south end."

Thames said that anyone can join CERT no matter their background experience, the training is free and volunteers are given a free pack with basic first aid gear.

Santa Rosa County will hold its kick-off meeting at 9 a.m. on Jan. 21 in the Santa Rosa County Emergency Operations Center at 4499 Pine Forest Road in Milton and will have its first basic CERT training on March 17 from 6-8 p.m.

Additional sessions are March 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (lunch provided), March 19 from 1-4 p.m., March 24 from 6-8 p.m., March 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (lunch provided) and March 26 from 1-4 p.m. Volunteers must attend all sessions to participate in the CERT program, however each individual session is open for citizens to attend and learn from.

If anyone would like to volunteer as a CERT member or get more information, email info@santarosacc.com or go to santarosacc.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa County seeks volunteers for CERT emergency response program