Greenville High School Students Get CERT Training

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Disaster can happen at any time and catch anyone unaware. The importance of being prepared for any emergency is not lost on Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Shirley Sandy. She is always looking for more help when incidents happen in her county, and is now getting that assistance from some of the younger members of the community.

“We hope that they’re not going to be there by themselves,” Shirley said of her newest team. “But if they are, it’s going to be comforting knowing that we have people in the neighborhood that can, can start until the first responders can get there.”

A group of students from Greenville High School is in the process of becoming Community Emergency Response Team certified. CERT, as it is more commonly known, is a way for local emergency crews to use community members in extreme situations.

“They started after 9-11. And the president called in for the nation to volunteer through Citizens Corps,” Sandy said.

The students go through 20 hours of in-class teaching, with hands on first aid and basic triage training. They also learn basic terrorism psychology and how to speak with individuals who suffered traumatic events. At the end of their 20 hours they will be put through a four hour simulation, where they will be subjected to a “disaster” and have to use their new skills.

After going through the course, the high schoolers will receive their CERT certification, meaning they can assist first responders when needed.

“Take this course if you have the chance. It’s a lot of great knowledge, and they teach it to you in a way that’s really easy to comprehend,” said Greenville High Senior Mary Margaret Lecoq.

“It’s a little nerve-racking at first, knowing that you can get called out for this information,” added Sophomore Laun Pryor. “But I feel like through the training given by several people that I am ready and I will know what to do when that time comes. If it comes.”

Sandy added that anyone in the community can take the class or arrange for a group to take the class, they just need to call and ask. Even though these students will be extremely capable after this class, she said, they will not be considered first responders.

“They’re not first responders. They’re there to assist first responders,” Sandy explains. “What we teach them is to take care of themselves first, then their families, then their communities, if a community gets locked in. And then to assist first responders if they’re called upon.”

For more information on setting up a class at the Butler County EMA, the phone number is (334) 382-7911. For more information about CERT, click here.