Hoboken's Volunteer Community Emergency Force Seeks New Recruits

Hoboken’s Community Emergency Response Team, a volunteer force of residents trained in basic emergency response and organizational skills, seeks new members for its fast-growing ranks. 

Interested residents are invited to attend a series of free CERT classes taught by state-certified trainers this fall on subjects ranging from disaster preparedness to terrorism.

CERT membership — currently at 65 trained volunteers citywide — has exploded since Superstorm Sandy swept through the Mile Square City last October. A 55-member CERT class, which started training a week before Sandy hit and graduated in April, was easily the organization's largest since the city began holding CERT trainings in 2009.

“It’s one of the biggest things we’ve done to make us more resilient,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who credited CERT coordinator Lou Casciano and his team of volunteers for saving lives during Sandy.

The concept of CERT, which was originally developed and implemented by the Los Angeles Fire Department in the 1980s and has since been adopted and expanded nationwide by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, calls for trained community members to assist professional emergency responders in disaster situations.

CERT members use the basic response skills they’ve learned during training to man call centers and shelters or conduct welfare checks during emergencies.

“One of the main reasons for having CERTs is to take the strain off police/fire during major emergencies,” city spokesman Juan Melli said, citing CERT’s role in staffing the city’s Emergency Operations Center during major storms, preparing individuals and neighborhoods for disasters and even helping out during large events like the Fourth of July. 

“Hoboken did have the team in place for Hurricane Sandy and they were tremendously important," he continued. "They helped coordinate the POD distribution system, staffed and ran shelters, put in place and operated an emergency “pharmacy” in City Hall and much more.”

Residents interested in joining Hoboken's CERT can download and complete the application and return it by email to certteam@hobokennj.org.

To receive CERT certification, participants must attend every module of the aforementioned emergency response training course offered in the fall and participate in a final emergency simulation exercise at a date to be determined.

This fall's training class meets weekly from Oct. 1 through Nov. 19 at the Elks Club, located at 1005 Washington St. Each week's class runs 2.5 hours, from 7 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.