By John J. Kriz
“They’re an extraordinary group of people — extraordinary resource for our town,” says New Canaan Director of Emergency Management Russ Kimes about the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) www.newcanaancert.org “I couldn’t do my job without their assistance. So it’s truly appreciated.”
But just what is CERT, and what does it do? When it comes to public safety, just about everyone knows about the police and fire departments, as well as our Emergency Medical Service (EMS) – the ambulance, with its EMTs and paramedics. But they’re not all.
What CERT Does
New Canaan’s all-volunteer Community Emergency Response Team’s mission is to train and equip themselves and fellow citizens to be prepared to help themselves and their neighbors in the event of a disaster or emergency – to be ‘the help until help arrives.’ In addition, CERT assists and supports first responders in case of an emergency or other event, when those first responders are overloaded. CERT is a force multiplier, helping first responders to leverage their capacities. While CERT members do not participate directly in so-called DLH (Danger to Life and Health) events, as would police and fire personnel, “there’s a ton of activities that need to happen outside of that, particularly within the incident command,” says Russ Kimes.
New Canaan’s CERT is the oldest one in Connecticut, having been established in 2003.
If an incident occurs, CERT’s resources can be requested by Mr. Kimes at the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), EMS, the First Selectman, Fire and/or Police. Once the ‘Bat Signal’ goes out, CERT’s management, in turn, contacts, organizes and deploys its team of trained volunteers, who would coordinate with first responders and incident command.
When New Canaan’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been activated for an emergency such as a major storm, CERT is usually right there in support. CERT can be dealing with traffic control and monitoring road closures in the field, as well as helping to leverage incoming resources, such as fire apparatus and ambulances. Furthermore, CERT can assist in monitoring radio traffic, keeping track of key events and available resources, directing people to shelter resources and helping operate the EOC’s call center, answering residents’ questions and managing new information such as downed trees and power lines. CERT volunteer Kevin McIntosh says “it’s neighbor to neighbor. It’s kind of a reassuring voice on the phone when they call and they realize that they’re talking to one of their neighbors.”
Other emergency tasks include “damage assessment,” notes CERT volunteer Peter Bergen. “We’re requested to go out and if a pole has come down — Is it sparking or not? Is it endangering somebody’s life? That’s what we report on, too.” CERT volunteer Jim Davis adds that downed trees and power lines also mean road closures and a need for traffic control, and CERT is usually assigned those tasks.
CERT provides important extra sets of skilled hands when and where they’re most needed.
For example, during Hurricane Sandy New Canaan had 150 road closures, plus flooding, downed trees and power lines, and urgent medical issues. The 18 fire, police and EMS first responders on duty were overwhelmed. CERT was there with forty volunteers on day one. In 2024, CERT’s cadre of 105 volunteers logged 1662 hours of service, 12% more than in 2023.
In addition to assisting during emergencies, New Canaan’s CERT is prominent at various large, planned events in town, such as May Fair, the Family Fourth of July celebration in Waveny Park, Caffeine & Carburetors and Veteran’s Day ceremonies. CERT is also part of the planning of the town’s involvement in these events. Assisting at these events, which can include such duties as vehicular and pedestrian traffic control and safety, and directing people to medical or other resources, helps CERT members hone their skills and support our community.
Emerging Tasks
Over the last year, CERT volunteer Elena Imbimbo has worked to expand connections with town emergency services. For example, there is an effort underway to get CERT more involved in operational roles in the field, says Fire Chief Albert Bassett. This would include acting as a “staging area manager where they [CERT] would be on the radio to assist us moving apparatus from one place to another. We’re also looking at them to assist us with our accountability and accountability system where they’re tracking the people that are arriving on scene.” In addition, Fire Chief Bassett has plans to train CERT members to operate the command board, which tracks major points in and the progression of an incident. CERT volunteer Tracey Hamill notes that CERT participation in perimeter control – keeping people away from possibly dangerous areas, and access avenues open – is a part of this.
New Canaan’s Fire Department has a “very good relationship” with CERT, says Fire Chief Bassett.
“The new move we’re trying to do is try to get them [CERT] out more and help us with some of the tasks that we don’t have the personnel for because I need to put firefighters into firefighting position,” says Fire Chief Bassett. “I can use those support roles that understand emergency services and they can act as an aid to some of our officers working different assignments on the outside, and they could be an aid to the incident commander with that documentation and managing the command board as resources come in.” Another project underway is training CERT members to manage fill sites for fire apparatus needing water, directing apparatus in and out, and notifying incident command that apparatus is leaving the fill site and on its way to the incident.
CERT Structure
The CERT program concept was started by the Los Angeles Fire Department in 1985, and grew into a national program in 1993 under the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with a goal of providing a consistent approach to preparedness training. However, the CERT program also provides substantial latitude to individual communities to ensure that it best meets specific local needs and conditions. Every state has CERTs, which total around 3000 volunteers. More than 600,000 people have received CERT training since inception.
CERT is an independent organization, led by its own sixteen person board, with offices and storage facilities at Irwin House. It is one of Connecticut’s Citizen Corps programs, under the state’s Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. https://portal.ct.gov/demhs/emergency-management/resources-for-officials/citizen-corps Most of CERT’s funding is sourced locally via donations, with some money from the Town, plus some from the state, via Department of Homeland Security grants. CERT is also a value-for-money group, with only a few thousand dollars spent yearly for equipment and other needs.
CERT Training
Basic CERT training comprises a FEMA-developed 20-hour course covering disaster response skills such as disaster preparedness, fire safety and suppression, light search-and-rescue, basic first aid including CPR and ‘Stop the Bleed,’ disaster psychology, and incident command and management. CERT members can train in additional skills such as pedestrian safety, traffic control, AED and Narcan use, radio communications, volunteer deployment, emergency sheltering, emergency operations center activities and animal rescue/sheltering. CERT members can also be trained in emotional first aid, and in operating family assistance centers. CERT is looking into training to operate family reunification centers if, for example, a school is evacuated and children need to be reunited with parents.
Elena Imbimbo stresses that “every year we propose new topics for training. The goal is to train as many people as possible in different areas so that they’re prepared in case there is an emergency.” Training resources can be local experts, as well as those supplied by the state or others. Examples of state-led training include an active shooter exercise, as well as a plane crash scenario.
CERT also provides the basic FEMA-developed training for free to New Canaan residents. Some residents choose to join CERT after completing this training, but it’s not required. However, once they have received the training, participants will be better prepared to care for themselves and others during an emergency, helping themselves to be more self-sufficient after a disaster. Peter Bergen cites the example of a downed tree blocking a dead-end street. Emergency vehicles cannot get in. Having someone CERT-trained there means better, faster help for someone in need, plus a trained person to coordinate with first responders.
CERT’s next training program starts on February 26. Each person completing the training receives a specially designed and filled backpack to assist them in emergencies.
CERT Equipment
CERT’s equipment includes an SUV, and an equipment trailer containing diverse safety and traffic control equipment. In addition, safety clothing, radios, a generator and emergency lighting are part of CERT’s arsenal.
Why Do It?
“I love New Canaan and I really wanted to do something that I could make an impact on the town that I have grown to love,” says Jim Davis. “It’s part of paying back to the community,” adds Kevin McIntosh. As well, it’s learning “how to take care of yourself when your government might not be there.” Elena Imbimbo says she “just wanted to help by training them to be ready for anything.” Tracey Hamill notes that volunteering for CERT “really reaches into the whole cross-section of New Canaan, which has been eye-opening for me and very rewarding.” Peter Bergen “loves empowering people.”
Tracey Hamill sums it up: “We are out there for the safety of the town.”
If you want to be like so many other New Canaan residents and give back to the community, and to yourself, consider CERT training. It’s free and starts next week. For more information, or to register, go to www.newcanaancert.org
John J Kriz is a 30+ year resident of New Canaan. The opinions expressed are his own.
