The Town & Country Police Department, Creve Coeur Police Department, Creve Coeur Fire Protection District and the West County EMS and Fire District have partnered together to offer citizens specialized training, known as CERT, to assist the community in the event of a large-scale disaster. Our program is now a part of the Meramec Valley Citizen Corps Council, which includes CERT programs from several local municipalities and fire districts.
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training was designed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is designed to train citizen volunteers to assist their communities after disasters, such as an earthquake. Topics covered during the CERT training will include disaster preparedness, fire suppression, medical operations, light search and rescue, and disaster psychology. Required training manuals, as well as some supplies, will be provided for participants.
Recently, CERT members were called to assist the Town & Country Police Department and West County EMS and Fire District with the evacuation of a nursing facility in the aftermath of a severe thunderstorm. For several days after the storm, CERT members continued to assist the community at numerous cooling shelters and food and water distribution centers throughout St. Louis County.
CERT training is offered to all residents in the City and is free of charge. The training is conducted on Tuesday evenings from 7:00 - 9:00 PM continuing for 6 weeks. The next class is scheduled to begin on March 11th.
Additionally, for businesses interested in providing CERT training for a group of employees, classes can be held at your facility during business hours. Edward Jones, Monsanto and Maryville University employees have recently completed the training.
It is important to have trained citizen volunteers available to assist our police and fire departments and the community in the aftermath of a disaster. If you would like to enroll and/or receive additional information regarding CERT, please contact Officer Chris Hunt at 314-567-4900 EXT 129 or by email at
huntc@town-and-country.org.
Additional CERT information is also available at the FEMA website,
www.ready.gov.