In order to broaden its commitment to ensure volunteers receive the full-range of opportunity through Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, the Wayne County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is offering the Wayne County 2015 Citizen Corps Disaster exercise scheduled for Saturday, September 19 at 8:00 a.m.
Currently, 90 volunteers have registered to participate in the exercise at Livonia Rotary Park, 32300 Six Mile Road, Livonia 48152.
The upcoming exercise will provide training for two units of the Wayne County Citizen Corps: the CERT team which includes volunteers in disaster preparedness, basic first aid/triage, light search and rescue, terrorism awareness, disaster psychology, and the Medical Reserve Corps, which consists of volunteers with medical backgrounds.
“By testing these capabilities this exercise will assist our CERT teams in identifying and correcting any gaps in team response,” said Director of the Wayne County Homeland Security and Emergency Management department, Tadarial J. Sturdivant.
The training is free to CERT teams and will involve two exercises designed to sharpen response readiness during times of emergencies:
*Grid Search: volunteer teams will walk an area to search for clues and evidence. Police volunteers will guide the team on how toproperly handle evidence and what to do with the evidence.
*Search and Rescue: volunteer teams will conduct a search for missing persons in a wooded area. Once recovered, the team will triage the victims and define a strategy to exit the woods.
With over 400 volunteers, the Wayne County Citizen Corps has been deployed to assist with the 2014 flood disaster for damage assessment and flood clean up and recovery. The team has also been called to assist first responders to search for missing persons and to help ensure the community’s safety during large community events.
The Wayne County Citizen Corps is comprised of five separate units assembled to prepare individuals through education, training, and volunteer service to make communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to respond to threats of terrorism, crime and public health issues.
For information on joining the Wayne County 2015 Citizen Corps, contact Danielle Elzayat, Wayne County Citizen Corps Chairperson at 734.728.3711 or visit www.waynecounty.com.
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