Sheriff’s Office held regional training class for the Community Emergency Response Team, to educate people about disaster preparedness; 36 attend

Maria Carollo practices first-responder work on a mannequin during C.E.R.T. training May 13-15.	Kamara Jones and Kaven Donald practice working on a mannequin.
Paul Cougat working on a mannequin.	Linda Hockersmith of St. Bernard Parish Hospital illustrates a point while speaking about emergency

Rose Mary Gioia of Chalmette wanted to take the Community Emergency Response Team course being hosted by the Sheriff’s Office May 14-15 to learn about disaster preparedness and how to help people as a volunteer.

She said she enjoyed the “hands-on activities’’ involving basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.

“I would recommend it for anyone who has a desire to help if the parish needs them’’ after a disaster or emergency situation, Gioia said.

The free two-day event held at the multi-purpose building in Val Riess Park in Chalmette drew 36 participants,

The Community Emergency Response Team, or C.E.R.T., is the modern version of the old Civil Defense, which had a long history of training volunteers to help out in local emergencies, including in times when the nation was at war,

C.E.R.T. is under the overall umbrella of U.S. Homeland Security and in St. Bernard Parish is sponsored in conjuncture with St. Bernard Parish government through a Homeland Security grant.

Sheriff James Pohlmann the program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that could impact their area.

Using the training learned in the classrooms and during exercises, C.E.R.T. members can assist others in their neighborhood or work places following an emergency event when professional responders aren’t immediately available to help.

Agencies involved in putting on the event included the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office, the St. Bernard Fire Department, the St. Bernard Port, the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office, the, St. Bernard Parish Hospital, Jefferson Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security.