CERT Testimonial
submitted by Gretchen Mayer
On June 7, 2006, a terrible summer storm ripped through my town of Mansfield. During the night my husband and I heard crashing, ripping and tearing sounds. When I stepped out of my house at first dawn, the sight was horrendous. We had three 100-year-old trees ripped up by the roots. The rest of the town was in no better shape.
I wandered around all alone, since it was about 5 a.m., and noticed downed power lines, large branches laying on car hoods and even a small building tipped at a 45 degree angle. As I took photos of the damage, I now realize I’d unknowingly placed myself in a lot of danger.
There were no rescue crews around; the storm had been pretty wide-spread. By sheer luck, no one was hurt by the downed power lines or the unsafe structures.
Now that I’ve had CERT instruction and looking back on that day, I realize there was so much more I could have done. If nothing else, having someone around with specialized training would have been reassuring to some of the other people in town.
My husband, Doug, and I have just finished the CERT course and have joined one of the county’s CERT teams. When another storm whips through the area, and it will, we’ll be better prepared. In South Dakota a summer storm, blizzard and even unpredicted flood can happen at any time. While I’m not physically the strongest member of our team, I know that when something big happens and we need to help, there will be an important job as a neighbor or on a county team for me to perform.
Whether you join a team or not, the course will prepare you to take care of yourself, your family and your neighbors during such crisis. There’s no cost to take the course, it’s a commitment of one evening per week for six weeks and is an informal, fun, learning experience.
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