Most of us are not really prepared for an emergency.
Sure, you have a fire extinguisher, but do you know how to use it? I had one for years and didn’t learn how to use it until I took CERT, Citizens Emergency Response Team, training.
What if one of your family members or a neighbor needs CPR? Do you know how to do it until the first responders can arrive? Do you know when and how to properly apply a tourniquet? What are the signs of psychological distress? Are you really prepared for all types of disasters?
Those are just a few of the important preparedness training skills you will learn and practice in the free CERT training classes Feb. 24 to March 14. The first four sessions are at the Brea Civic and Cultural Center’s Community Room B, Level 2, and the last two at Brea’s City Yard on Berry Street.
The preparedness training sessions are available to Brea residents and those working in Brea, but Brea residents get priority. Breans as young as 16 can enroll, as long as they do so with their parent.
Maybe you want to learn how to be better prepared for the Big One, a wildfire or other major calamity, but not interested in being a CERT member. That’s fine. Many people take Brea’s great CERT training so they are better prepared to take care of themselves or their loved ones if the Big One happens and people are injured.
In a disaster such as a major earthquake, it could be a while before the first responders can get to your house. That’s why you need to be prepared and able to stay calm, render first aid and be able to apply a tourniquet if needed.
Through the CERT training, you’ll also learn how to do light search and rescue and much more to help you really be prepared in a major emergency. And with all of your training, you’ll be able to render first aid, help your family and others to stay calm, help the first responders and others in charge as needed.
I took the CERT training several years ago, after an earthquake sent a coffee mug from a high cupboard in my kitchen to my feet in my family room. I screamed and was scared. Scared enough to sign up for the next CERT training, and I am now a CERT member. You can, however, take the training and not join the CERT team.
“Our ultimate goal is to have a better prepared community, and continuing the program beyond the training classes is not required,” Said Lisa Keyworth, Brea’s emergency preparedness coordinator, adding that those who commit to the CERT team are just an added benefit.
Ready to be CERT trained? Go to cityofbrea.gov/CERT for the application. But hurry. The class is limited to 20.
Something unlimited are comments about Dwight Manley planning to bring Costco to Brea on Kraemer Boulevard, where Beckman Coulter is now located on 34 acres. I did learn that Manley has completed the purchase of the property, and we’ll see if he is successful in getting Costco to locate off of a non-major Brea street.
The sales tax sharing agreement with Manley as trustee for the DVQ Revocable Trust was voted by the Brea City Council, 3:1, with Councilmember Christine Marick voting no and Councilmember Blair Stewart absent, at their Dec. 16 council meeting, not the Jan. 20 meeting that I put in my Jan. 22 column.
Terri Daxon is a freelance writer and the owner of Daxon Marketing Communications. She gives her perspective on Brea issues twice a month. Contact her at daxoncomm@gmail.com.