Town seeks reinforcements for emergency team

In emergency situations, local police and fire departments respond immediately to help victims and provide rescue and first aid services. During a natural disaster or at large-scale community events, however, many communities also rely on support from trained volunteers. In Canton, as in many other towns and cities across the commonwealth, that support comes in the form of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) — a group of resident volunteers who are trained to assist fellow residents in times of emergency.

Canton Fire Chief Charles Doody, who also serves as the town’s emergency management director, organized Canton’s CERT about 10 years ago. Now Doody and other CERT members are hoping to encourage more volunteers to come forward to join the team.

Members of Canton’s CERT team work on forceable entry training.

Doody explained that CERT originated in the Midwest, where frequent tornado activity has led to some areas being designated as “tornado alleys.” In the most severe instances, communities can be cut off from help for several days. A CERT team, said Doody, ensures that there are trained people already on the ground who can “take care of each other until help could arrive.”

CERT members learn how to administer first aid and also receive training in a variety of other skills, such as how to shut off water or gas service to a house and how to force entry into a building. That way, should the need arise, they could be deployed to the neighborhoods so they can render immediate help if necessary.”

Doody said a small group of volunteers had previously supported the town’s Emergency Management Agency under Fire Chief James Fitzpatrick. Over time, however, membership started to dwindle, and around the time that Doody became the emergency management director, the state was starting to provide grants as a way to help encourage towns to put together their own CERT teams.

Doody reached out to the Canton community for volunteers, and 25 people responded. The Canton CERT went through the certification process set up by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and then trained in how to respond in different situations before a deployment might be needed. Using state grant funding, the town was also able to purchase emergency kits for each CERT member that contains equipment that they might need when responding to a planned event or natural disaster, including gloves, safety goggles, and a flashlight. CERT members also have uniform shirts and jackets, as well as ID badges. Members keep their kits at home so that they can respond to local emergencies quickly.

Doody said that while there are currently 20 CERT members, 12 of them are active members who take part in the monthly training sessions. “The backgrounds are varied,” he said. “We have people with absolutely no experience in public safety or public service and people who have worked in the public safety arena in their previous careers. It’s not a prerequisite that you have any experience, because we train them to get the skills they need to do the task that we ask them to do.”

When needed, CERT members are contacted via email and through the town’s reverse 911 system.

CERT members train every month on a different topic. In the past year, topics have included CPR and First Aid, the use of fire extinguishers, forceable entry training, and technical rescue training to learn the basics of assisting in rescuing a trapped person. Dr. Dan Muse, an emergency room physician at Brockton Hospital, medical director for several fire departments, and the Canton Public Schools’ physician, was a guest speaker, providing information about COVID to CERT members.

“We try to keep it interesting for them, but we try to give them the skills they need in case we need them to augment public safety,” Doody said.

The monthly sessions are held in the training room at the Canton Fire Station, although some drills are held at other locations, depending on their nature. CERT is responsible for operating Canton’s emergency shelter at Canton High School.

“Each year, we go through the shelter supplies that the town has and make sure that it’s all in good repair,” Doody said. The team then goes to CHS and does a mock shelter opening, setting up cots, tables, and the registration system.

If a blizzard or ice storm is forecast, a trailer with the supplies for the shelter will be loaded and pre-positioned at the high school. CERT members can then respond directly to the high school when needed. During heat waves, CERT members have been assigned to cooling centers, such as the Senior Center, to help if needed. CPR and first aid training must be completed every two years in order for CERT to remain certified.

A CERT member practices use of a fire extinguisher.

Doody said the town also relies on CERT members to provide extra manpower and support at large-scale events such as the annual July 4th fireworks celebration and local music festivals. “They become instrumental in doing things like manning a first aid station or helping with traffic control or crowd control,” Doody said. “Site security is another thing that they do a lot at those events.”

CERT members can also be found helping out with local natural disasters. The town’s Emergency Operations Center, located at Canton Fire headquarters, is open on a 24-hour basis during a storm or disaster, and rotating crews of CERT members do eight-hour shifts. The town also has a direct link to MEMA and CERT members will monitor the website that provides up-to-the-minute reports so that officials can determine if more resources are needed.

Another area in which CERT has helped is with town-sponsored clinics, including recent COVID booster clinics and drive-up flu vaccine clinics. Members have directed traffic, registered people, and made sure that medical staff had needed supplies.

Doody said Canton is fortunate to have a highly qualified deputy emergency management director in Paul Clark, who is available to step in if the chief is unavailable. “He comes with great experience,” Doody said of Clark, who is a former major in the National Guard and a logistics expert. “He’s the perfect person for the job.”

At the same time, Doody said the town could certainly use more CERT volunteers, as they have been relying on the same small group for the past several years. “It would be nice to get some young folks through the door,” he said. “That’s our biggest need — recruiting and then keeping people engaged. As far as equipment and training goes, we’re in good shape.”

Doody would like to have at least 50 volunteers for the team, since not everyone is available to help with every event. “That would give us a nice cushion,” he said.

CERT is open to Canton residents who are 18 years of age or older. All volunteer members must fill out an application, be interviewed, and pass a background check.

For more information about CERT or to request an application, please contact Chief Doody at cdoody@town.canton.ma.us. For a list of other engagement opportunities available to Canton residents, go to town.canton.ma.us/558/Town-Department-Engagement-Opportinities.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Aug 12 2022. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.