We’re pretty fortunate here in Southern Nevada when it comes to natural disasters. We’ve been spared the wild fires plaguing the American western states and we don’t live where hurricanes or tornadoes tend to form. But nonetheless, things do happen.
The City of Boulder City has recently decided to start their own Emergency Management Plan, (which you can read some basic info on that here), but did you know that there has been a long-standing program in Las Vegas where we as citizens could get basic training to help be prepared for and respond to an emergency?
We heard about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program and found out some basic details. To quote from their flyer, “When disasters strike, people often pull together to help save lives. Many, however, are not properly trained in an emergency response. Taking the Community Emergency Response Team training can help teach necessary skills.” As we close in on the one year anniversary of the tragic ‘Harvest 91’ shooting last October 1st, 2017, we can’t help but remember how many ordinary citizens helped each other in almost heroic ways, not to mention the skills of our first responders. It reminds us how important this all can be.
There is no charge for the courses, and they are run by the City of Las Vegas Office of Emergency Management. Participants learn about disaster preparedness, fire suppression, emergency medical response, search and rescue and even terrorism. There are two 8 hour sessions, for a total of 16 hours to get the certification. They are scheduled on September 29 and October 6, 2018 at the Boulder City Library. To learn more you can visit their main site HERE, and we found this registration link also.
