First Responders Conduct Tornado Training Drill

WALESKA, GA — The Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) conducted a training drill last week at the Lake Arrowhead community in Waleska.

The drill simulated a tornado touch down inside the remote community and tested not only the response of first responders to such an incident but also the neighborhood Community Emergency Response Team. CERT members are local citizens who have attended a course designed to help protect themselves, their family and their neighbors immediately following a disaster while waiting for first responders to arrive.

The first drill, held Wednesday, Oct. 10, included about 100 public safety officials and CERT members. Public safety members responding to the area had to negotiate simulated blocked roads to get to specific locations within Lake Arrowhead where it had been reported homes were damaged or collapsed, people were severely injured, dead and unaccounted for, there was a natural gas leak and there were several other challenges that first responders might face when responding to a tornado touch down.

As expected, Lake Arrowhead CERT members arrived on the scene prior to public safety getting there because they live in the community. CERT members got the opportunity to test the skills they had been trained on and then supported public safety upon their arrival. First responders from Cherokee Fire and Emergency Services, Cherokee Sheriff's Office, Cherokee Marshal's Office, Cherokee 911, Cherokee County Animal Control, Cherokee County Animal Shelter and Search and Rescue responded to the drill.

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The drill not only tested the response to injured persons, animal control officers responded to handle pets that had been displaced by the "storm." The Marshal's Office responded and prepared a plan to prevent unlicensed contractors that would typically be soliciting work to repair damaged homes in an area ravaged by storms.

The second part of the drill, held Saturday, Oct. 13, involved about 90 people and continued with a search and rescue exercise involving a missing adult and child. The Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services Search and Rescue Team responded to search and locate the missing pair. Local CERT members continued its training response to collapsed homes and injured victims.

Evaluators from public safety agencies outside of Cherokee County were present both days to critique and provide feedback on the response. The training drill was an opportunity for first responders to practice responding to a large scale, multi-event emergency while also training side by side with CERT members.

"This exercise provided the opportunity for various Cherokee County public safety agencies to become more familiar with the capabilities of CERT members," said Renee Cornelison, Cherokee County EMA director. "In a large scale event such as this, CERT can be a real asset to first responders."

More information about the Cherokee County CERT program can be found by clicking here.

Images via Cherokee Sheriff's Office