Emergency Training For Camden County Residents Set For September

CAMDEN COUNTY, NJ — Several tornadoes have hit the region in the last couple of weeks, leaving many people in South Jersey interested in disaster preparedness and response skills.

This September, the Camden County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will offer a free, 20-hour training curriculum to prepare interested Camden County residents to help protect themselves, their family, and their community during a disaster.

“The CERT program is an all-risk, all-hazard training designed to help you protect your family and neighbors in the event of a disaster,” Commissioner Jonathan Young, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Safety, said. “CERT team members are not first responders, but are uniquely prepared to respond during traumatic events. This ongoing program presents an excellent opportunity to give yourself and your family additional peace of mind in the face of an increasingly unpredictable environment.”

The training consists of both practical exercises and classroom instruction, and includes:

• Recognizing types of hazards
• Disaster medical operations
• Fire safety
• Light search and rescue
• Lift and carries
• Debris removal techniques
• Door breaching

Training will take place at the Charles P. Dougherty Sr. Center located at 508 Lambert Avenue in Mount Ephraim, and will take place on the following dates and times:

• Friday, September 10: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (already reached capacity)
• Saturday, September 11: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (still available)
• Sunday, September 12: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (still available)

Once initial training is completed, participants will be eligible for additional skills training throughout the year. Pre-registration is required in order to participate. Participants under the age of 18 must also receive parent/guardian permission to attend.

Anyone who is interested in training and joining the CERT Team should register by emailing cert@camdencodps.org by Sept. 6, 2021.