'These individuals make positive impacts': Bastrop County trains 16 volunteers to aid during community emergencies
Sixteen residents from Bastrop and other Texas counties recently graduated from a federally approved Community Emergency Response Team training after volunteering 24 hours to learn basic emergency disaster response skills and putting those lessons to the test.
The individuals who participated in the Federal Emergency Management Agency G317 Basic Introduction to CERT training took part in a disaster drill held at Bastrop High School on July 31 and facilitated by the Bastrop County Community Emergency Response Team to culminate the program.
The training “empowers individuals with the knowledge necessary to promote resiliency in their community through preparedness, response and recovery,” according to the national CERT mission statement.
During the staged drill, 23 students from the high school’s drama department and Boy Scout Troop 2010 posed as victims who were injured after a tornado touched down at Bastrop High School. The CERT team was dispatched to the school to help victims and to conduct search and rescue operations as light to moderate damage was reported in the simulated disaster and 911 calls were indicating there were injured and trapped victims.
“The emergency drill was a real-life simulation that gave participants an excellent opportunity to apply skills learned in the classroom portion of the course,” said Hillary Long, Bastrop County’s assistant emergency management coordinator.
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Exercise evaluators from Bastrop County First Responders, Bastrop County CERT and Bastrop Fire Department gave participants feedback after the drill. The CERT training graduates will often work hand in hand with first responders during community emergencies.
“As we have seen in the past, and especially this summer with wildland fires, large scale events are happening more frequently,” said Ron Hilliard, G317 lead instructor. “These events put increased demand on the emergency services. Successful completion of this course expands the number of trained volunteers in the community.”
Those who graduated from the training studied disaster psychology, disaster medical operations, fire safety, light search and rescue, CERT organization and CERT and terrorism as part of the program.
Since organizing in December 2021, Bastrop County CERT volunteers have helped with disaster assessment after a tornado touched down in Elgin as well as pitched in at a reunification center after a wildfire in the county. They’ve also provided light first aid support to Bastrop County First Responders and have handed out education materials at events in Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville.
“As we all know, emergencies can happen anywhere and at any time,” said James Altgelt, Bastrop County emergency management coordinator. “Having sufficient and timely resources available to respond is always a challenge during any emergency.
“Our local CERT team is made up of dedicated individuals who possess skills through their profession, education and training that augment our local response capabilities. These individuals make positive impacts on Bastrop County’s abilities to prepare for and educate, mitigate, respond to and recover from emergencies that impact our community.”
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The response team’s core mission is neighbors helping neighbors, said Bastrop County CERT Deputy Director Preston McGrew. “There are no prerequisites to joining Bastrop County CERT only a willingness and desire to help your community,” he said. “We have a position to fill all skill sets and levels of experience.”
Anyone interested in learning more about the program may call Bastrop County CERT Program Manager Deena Thomas at 512-581-4022 or visit the Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management website at www.co.bastrop.tx.us/page/em.volunteers.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: CERT: Bastrop County prepares volunteers to help during emergencies
