Search and rescue cribbing exercise instructor Greg Metcalf of the Dalton Fire Department, kneeling center, instructs CERT students Christian Chadwick, Rodrick Casper, Nathan Pressley, Gary Casper and Kasha Sabanathan.
A father-son duo and a husband-wife team were among the 10 people who completed Whitfield County’s Academy 11 CERT training on Nov. 8-9. The 10 new Community Emergency Response Team members increase the total to 208 men and women who have completed the emergency training since classes began here in 2010.
The graduates, who completed the intensive training in two 12-hour sessions held at Dalton State College, learned about Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety and Fire Extinguishers, First Aid and Disaster Medical, Light Search and Rescue, Incident Command, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism Awareness, and more.
“CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own, and their actions can and do make a difference,” said Jeff Ownby, deputy director of Whitfield Emergency Management, the agency that oversees the program.
“While people will respond to others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger, therefore minimizing their risk of bodily injury and simply becoming another victim.”
The latest graduates include Gary Robert Casper and his son, Gary Rodrick Casper; Kenny Ott and his wife, Catherine; and Christian Chadwick, Nathan Pressley, Taylor Rhodes, Kasha Sabanathan, Jonathan Wakefield, and Fallyn Watson. Instructors from Whitfield EMA, Sheriff’s Office, and Fire Department as well as Dalton Fire and Dalton Police assisted throughout the class.
“Special thanks to Dalton State College for allowing us to use their facilities,” Ownby said, “and also to Dalton Middle School students (Ken Wiggins’ class) for being our disaster victims.”
Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help.
CERT members are also encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community. Whitfield CERT uses various instructors from local public safety who are experts in various fields and use their real world public safety knowledge and experience to give CERT members a true perspective of what to expect during disaster and emergency incidents.
Taking part in the search and rescue part of the final disaster exercise are Jon Wakefield, Kasha Sabanathan, and Taylor Rhodes.