In Case Of Emergency, Read Blog

Since CERT teams are comprised of citizen volunteers who are not usually deployed on a frequent basis, there is a need for refresher work both in the classroom and out in the field. One typical task for NYC-CERT teams is to help direct traffic (whether it be during a power failure or other emergency), which is [...]

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I attended a ceremony today marking the 1st anniversary of the construction crane accident that killed seven people in midtown Manhattan. 

Neighborhood residents, survivors of the accident, CERT team members who responded, local politicians and the media gathered in front of the construction site.

A moment of silence was observed at 2:22pm when the accident occurred.

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This week, I happened to be on the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) page of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website. (I was creating a link for a previous blog post which suggested CERT as one way to answer President Obama’s call for Americans to volunteer in their communities.)
While on the site, I was pleasantly surprised [...]

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Citizen preparedness and touch football are not usually found in the same sentence. But thanks to my Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) teammate Janine McGoldrick, they are being linked in a way that will help public readiness in my community. Janine plays in a touch football league here organized by a company called Zog Sports (www.ZogSports.com), [...]

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Last night, I attended a CERT Training for Manhattan team members at Lehman College which featured presentations from officials from the New York City Office of Emergency Management, Fire Department and Police Department officials. 
NYFD Captain Joe Brosi, a CERT Liaison and team trainer, (pictured above) reviewed the Incident Command structure under which we work during an emergency. Because CERT [...]

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One of the most interesting and fulfilling parts of my preparedness experience thus far has been my participation in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. CERT is a federally-funded program which trains citizens to help the authorities during emergencies. It began in California and has spread across the nation. Here in New York City, there are currently 56 teams in all [...]

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