West Hartford Graduates New Class Of Emergency Volunteers

WEST HARTFORD, CT — There's a new group of volunteers ready to serve the West Hartford community through good times or bad.

Last month, 35 graduates of the West Hartford Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) celebrated the completion of a rigorous training program.

This most recent training session included members from West Hartford, Hartford, East Hartford, and Manchester.

Assisting the program was the Manchester CERT team, the Disaster Behavioral Health Response Network, which provided trainers for two of the sessions, and the West Hartford Fire Department.

Since its inception in Spring 2021, the West Hartford CERT program has trained more than 330 residents and contributed more than 10,000 hours of volunteer service to the community.

"West Hartford CERT is a group of local volunteers from different neighborhoods who receive special training to enhance their ability to recognize, respond to, and recover from a major emergency or disaster," reads the group's web page.

"As an organized team, individuals can provide vital services in the absence of and while waiting for the arrival of emergency responders; they often also assist once responders arrive. "

For more information on West Hartford's CERT program, click on this link.