The Glendale Fire and Police Departments will host their fifth Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training session beginning on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Classes will be held at the Glendale City Hall Auditorium, 424 N. Sappington Road, Glendale, Missouri.

 In CERT, teams of citizens are trained to take care of themselves and then help others in their communities for the first three days following a disaster. This is when debris-clogged or damaged roads, disrupted communications, or high volume of calls may prevent access by emergency response personnel. The purpose of CERT training is to provide citizens with the basic skills required to handle virtually all their own needs and then to be able to respond to their communities’ needs in the aftermath of a disaster.

 The Community Emergency Response Team course consists of 20 hours of training, two nights per week for two weeks, plus one Saturday morning practical exercise. Classes are taught by Glendale Fire and Police Personnel who have received specialized training in the areas of Disaster Preparedness, First Aid, Fire Suppression, Disaster Psychology and Terrorism Response, and Light Search and Rescue.

 Classes will be held March 13, 15, 20, and 22, 2012, from 6-10 p.m. The practical exercise will be held on Saturday, March 24, 2012, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

 For more information, visit the Glendale Fire Department website at www.glendalefd.com or contact Glendale Fire Captain Chuck Helle at (314) 965-7097 or chelle@glendalemo.org.

The Glendale Fire Department periodically hosts Ready in 3 classes.  This one hour class is a resource to help citizens to prepare for numerous types of emergencies such as earthquakes, tornadoes, or even man-made disasters. 

 For citizens interested in taking a more active role in disaster preparedness in the community, the Glendale Fire Department will also be hosting CERT classes.  The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

For more information on attending these classes, please contact Captain Chuck Helle at 314-965-7097.