Another Busy Month for Hamden CERT

The Hamden CERT April Report:

It was a busy month of April for the Hamden Community Emergency Response Team.

With the Graduation Ceremony held at Hamden Middle School April 10, the team now has more than 50 active members. The 23 students completed an eight-week basic training course that instructed the students on many topics relating to Emergency Preparedness and Public Safety for themselves, their families, neighbors and their community.

On April 13, Hamden CERT members volunteered their service to the Hamden Chamber of Commerce for the Annual Hamden Expo held at Hamden High School. Fifteen members of the team spent the day assisting the sponsors of this event, along with patrons and vendors, with traffic management and any other needed assistance.

On Tuesday, April 16, the team was called out on an emergency call to assist the Hamden Police & Fire Departments in the search for four young boys who were lost at Sleeping Giant State Park.

Four days later, on Saturday, April 20, the team was at Hamden Middle School for the Annual Earth-Day Celebration. Twenty members of the team again were assisting the many vendors and patrons throughout the day. Over 600 vehicles were parked on site without any interference to the regular traffic patterns on Dixwell Avenue during a very busy Saturday morning and afternoon. Unofficial counts estimated the crowd to be well over 2,300 people during the five-hour event.

These four activations were all handled while the team is also conducting the second TEEN CERT BasicTraining at Hamden High School on Thursday afternoons. The second TEEN CERT class of high school students will be graduating from this eight-week program, similar to the adult class on Tuesday, May21.


Following a major disaster, first responders who provide police, fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for their needed services. Factors such as number of victims, communication failures, road blockages and damaged infrastructures will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment's notice through dialing 911.

Our residents and visitors will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs. This is when and where CERT volunteers step up and provide our community with the emergency care and skills needed to help them stay safe until added services can be provided.

We strive to make a difference in our community and to volunteer our support when the need is the greatest. Our team is made up of many different individuals from a variety of different backgrounds and qualifications. The one common thread is that we all benefit from serving our neighbors and residents when the need is extreme. While doing this, it is always an honor to work along side of and assist our professional Police and Fire Personnel who are totally dedicated to our safety and a better life for all of us.