CERT Disaster Preparedness Training Comes to South Maui

CERT Training, courtesy County of Maui.

By Wendy Osher

Residents in South Maui will have an opportunity to participate in the latest round of emergency response training classes.

The County of Maui offers the series next month in Kihei from May 8-19 at the Kihei Elementary School.

Additional sessions are planned in Pukalani in July and in Kahului in September.

The Community Emergency Response Team program, or CERT, is a six-day, 30 hour program, consisting of classroom instruction and field exercises.

CERT Training, photo courtesy County of Maui.

The sessions are taught by Maui Fire Department instructors, sponsored by the County of Maui Civil Defense Agency, and funded by a Homeland Security grant.

Sessions are provided free of charge, and are open to participants 18 years and older.  Participants between 14 and 17 may attend with a legal parent or guardian.

“Preparation for the unexpected helps people take a level of control over their own safety, reduces anxiety, and provides the possibility of resuming a normal life more quickly in the aftermath of disaster,” county officials said in a press release.

The CERT program helps people to be better prepared to take care of themselves and their family and to respond to emergency situations in their communities.

CERT training includes basic disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. When emergencies happen, CERT members can be called upon to give critical support to professional first responders by providing immediate assistance to victims at a disaster site.

The Kihei CERT session will be held at the Kihei Elementary School at the following times:

Cert Training, photo courtesy County of Maui.

• Tuesday, May 8, 6-9:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 10, 6-9:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 12, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, May 15, 6-9:30 p.m.
• Thursday, May 17, 6-9:30 p.m.
• Saturday, May 19, 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

For more information, or to register, contact Charnan Carroll, Civil Defense Staff Specialist & CERT Program Manager, at 270-7285 or via email at [email protected].