Cy-Fair CERT Celebrates Completion of 41st Training Course Focused on Emergency Preparedness
Cy-Fair Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) celebrated the completion of the 41st installment of their acclaimed CERT training course last Tuesday. Dedicated community members participated in an 8-week course that prepared them to be pillars of support in their community and family when disaster strikes.
Established in 2007, Cy-Fair CERT is a non-profit organization with a strong commitment to emergency preparedness. This 501(c)(3) organization runs several free 8-week CERT training classes throughout the year, thanks to the funding from grants, donations and fund raising events. Beyond preparing individuals for disasters, the course aims to create a safer and stronger community in Harris County and its surroundings through service and volunteerism.
Over the course of the program, Cy-Fair CERT Class 41 participants learned about various fields such as Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, Medical, Search & Rescue, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism, and Hazard Planning. The classes were held once a week at the Cy-Fair Emergency Services Education Center in Cypress, with each session focusing on a different theme.
Cy-Fair CERT trainees during the first unit of the Spring 2024 installment of CERT training. (Source: Cy-Fair CERT)Among the practical skills acquired, the trainees learned about the application of fire extinguishers and their classification capacities, with members from Cy-Fair Fire Department serving as their instructors. They also got a chance to apply their new skills by extinguishing a small controlled fire.
The class also covered medical operations and triage, where the new CERT members got a chance to apply their learned skills. These practical exercises included applying a tourniquet, checking and opening an airway, as well as dressing and treating wounds, bleeding, and burns.
Further building their team spirit, members worked together to learn different methods of transport, which can be crucial when needing to move a patient out of a dangerous location or situation when they can't do so on their own.
Cy-Fair Fire Department assisted Cy-Fair CERT trainees in fire safety demonstrations this spring. (Source: Cy-Fair CERT)In the mission to create a more resilient community, Cy-Fair CERT not only provides training but also maintains a cargo container with essential disaster relief supplies located in the Copperfield area. The organization also manages several Neighborhood S.A.F.E. storage units, which hold supplies available for emergencies.
Cy-Fair CERT also actively supports numerous local events and annual drills such as the Harris Country CERT Rodeo and the BP-MS150. They also have an active team of HAM radio operators who participate in monthly meetings and practice drills.
As Cy-Fair CERT continues to offer its valuable service to the community, the organization is expected to announce the dates for its next set of CERT training classes this Fall 2024. To learn more about Cy-Fair CERT, visit cyfaircert.org.
Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.
