Press Release

For Immediate Release
#12-19


TWENTY-SEVEN NEW YORKERS ARE TRAINING TO BE COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT) MEMBERS IN THE BRONX


NYC Emergency Management hosts emergency response training program at Taft High School


February 8, 2019 – Twenty-seven New Yorkers are volunteering to help their neighbors prepare for emergencies. The students whom either live or work in the Bronx, are training in fire safety, light search and rescue, traffic management, first aid and triage with NYC Emergency Management’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Over the course of 10 training sessions, these students will receive instruction from active duty members of the FDNY, NYPD, and NYC Emergency Management.

“I’ve worked in social services for almost 20 years and I am a CPR instructor; with CERT I am looking to add more tools to my handbag,” said CERT student Taina Pintor. “We’ve been through emergencies at my work and in my neighborhood. There have been fires; we made it through Sandy. With this training, I’d like to bring a preparedness structure back to my communities. I want people to get that emergencies happen and I want to help them prepare and know what to do.”

CERTs prepare their neighbors and communities for different types of disasters and participate in community preparedness and disaster response activities. Last winter, Bronx CERT worked with NYC Emergency Management and the American Red Cross in Greater New York to staff an overnight shelter after a housing complex in the Bronx lost heat and hot water. 

“I live off White Plains Road, and in my area we have a lot of power outages because we have overhead power lines,” said CERT student Randall Krouser. “I feel like after my CERT training, I will be able to give back to my community and help my neighbors during power outages and other emergencies in the Bronx.”

The new classes are part of the 33rd training cycle since the NYC CERT program launched in 2003. The current Bronx class meets twice weekly at Taft High School. Upon completion of the program, graduating students will join CERT teams serving their neighborhoods. There are 10 CERT teams in the Bronx with more than 150 team members. There are also 17 students participating in a training class in Queens.

NYC Emergency Management hosts Community Emergency Response Team training cycles three times a year alternating throughout the five boroughs. The next training cycle is scheduled in May, with classes in Staten Island and Brooklyn. 

There are more than 50 CERT teams throughout New York City with more than 1,200 active members. For more information about the CERT program, or if you are interested in becoming a CERT volunteer, call 311 or visit NYC.gov/cert.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Justin Bennett/Omar Bourne (718) 422-4888

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