FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 27, 2003

CONTACT: Melanie Granfors, PIO, 206-533-6500

First Shoreline Community Emergency Response Team Graduates

The City of Shoreline’s first ever CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is now trained and ready to operate in the event of a major disaster in their neighborhood or workplace. The CERT class was sponsored by Shoreline Fire, Shoreline Police and the City of Shoreline’s Emergency Management team. Twenty-four Shoreline residents were trained in fire suppression, basic first aid, search and rescue, disaster psychology, and other aspects of disaster response operations.

CERT programs across the country are meant to provide a higher level of preparedness to neighborhoods and communities by training citizens to assist first responders when they are overwhelmed by a man-made or natural disaster. The basic tenet of CERT is that all citizens should be prepared to live without assistance of 911 for at least 72 hours once a crisis hits.

“We are proud of the people who stepped up to be part of this first CERT team training,” said Shoreline Fire Chief Ron Mehlert. “We are pleased to know that some of our most active, involved residents have this type of desire to help others in the event of an emergency. We expect they will become ambassadors of safety and preparedness in our community and we value the time they have given and the commitment they have made”.

CERT team members learned to use fire extinguishers, to assess buildings for light damage, and to begin the process of searching for, rescuing, triaging and treating victims. They also learned about fire and police department operations in the event of a major emergency.

A second CERT class is planned for Fall, 2003.

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