Somerset County’s Office of Emergency Management Graduates 11 New CERT Volunteers

(For Immediate Release – Somerset County, NJ): Somerset County’s Office of Emergency Management has graduated 11 residents from their Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Program. The residents trained at the Emergency Services Training Academy (ESTA) in Hillsborough and learned about Disaster Preparedness, CERT Organization, Light Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism, Fire Safety, Medical Operations, Sheltering Operations, and Stop the Bleed.

"I took the CERT course to be better prepared to help my family and my community in case of an emergency,” said resident Mike Mahoney. “As a member of the Somerset County CERT team, I can free up first responders to handle the situations that they are highly trained for. The realistic and practical training experience gives me confidence in responding to an actual emergency."

The residents volunteered 30 hours in September and October to learn about supporting their local communities and first responders when emergencies and disasters strike. 

Following their extensive training, each participant is required to complete a written exam and practical exercise to officially graduate.

“The CERT Basic Course empowers residents with skills to become more prepared to handle incidents on their own and support their neighbors during the process while first responders may be delayed due to high call volumes during emergency incidents,” said Kayla Pipas Keller, Deputy Director of Somerset County’s Office of Emergency Management. “Somerset County's Office of Emergency Management supports this course as well as our office's County Emergency Response Team (CERT). With having over 50 active members on our team, we hope to continue to be able to teach more residents as well as add more volunteers onto our teams as well as the municipal teams which are utilized throughout the county for both incidents as well as planned events.”

Local CERT programs help to train and organize teams of volunteers to assist their families, neighbors, co-workers, and other community members during emergencies when professional responders may not be immediately available. The deployment of CERT volunteers enables professional responders to focus efforts on more complex, essential, and often life-saving tasks.

To explore other training opportunities offered at ESTA, visit: https://www.somersetcountynj.gov/government/public-health-safety/emergency-services-training-academy

To learn more about Somerset County, register for free email alerts at somersetcountynj.gov/subscribe or follow us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube.

About Somerset County

The County of Somerset is committed to excellence and innovation in public service, promoting the well-being of all residents and communities by providing effective, efficient, and responsive leadership.

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