Community members invited to participate in emergency response training

Northwest Missouri State University’s Emergency and Disaster Management (EDM) program invites students, employees and community members to participate in its free Campus-Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) training this spring.

“The first rule in preparation for any disaster, to mitigate it, is to be prepared, and this course will teach you to be prepared with basic life-saving skills, basic search and rescue skills, and basic triage skills,” Travis Surprise, a Northwest instructor of emergency and disaster management, said. “So not only are you being prepared to save yourself, but potentially somebody else.”

Northwest’s EDM program will offer the free basic C-CERT training course Thursday, March 12, through Sunday, March 15, on the University campus.

To register for the training, contact Surprise at tsurprise@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1008.

The CERT training program is a 24-hour Federal Emergency Management Agency course designed to educate citizens about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their communities. The program trains participants in basic disaster response skills, including first aid, fire safety, search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

Using training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT participants can assist others in their neighborhood, campus or workplace when professional responders are not immediately available to help.

Northwest EDM students are encouraged to take CERT training for one of their three-credit requirements of 36-491 Field Experience in EDM.