Program Teaches Emergency Preparedness

(Little Rock, AR—June 27, 2006) A class to train citizens for Community Emergency Response Teams is scheduled to begin August 4, 2006. According to Matt Burks of the City of Little Rock’s Emergency Management staff, “This is a program that provides training in emergency preparedness and in basic response techniques to citizens enabling them to take a more active role in personal and public safety.”

The class will run for 8 consecutive Friday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. till 3:00 p.m. CERT teams are a component of Citizens Corps with the goal of creating opportunities for individuals to volunteer to help their communities prepare for disasters and emergencies.

The focus is to provide citizens training to assist themselves and their neighbors during times when ordinary emergency services are overwhelmed or unable to reach citizens due to the nature of the disaster. The class will cover what to expect during disasters, spotting tornadoes, fire suppression, first aid, search and rescue, psychological impact of disasters and terrorism.

This class is a cooperative effort between the County and City of Little Rock Emergency Management offices. To register for this training, please email Matt Burks of Little Rock Emergency Management at mburks@littlerock.gov or call 918-3766 or email Kathy Botsford at kbotsford@co.pulaski.ar.us or call Pulaski County OEM at 340-6911.

This class will be limited to the first 30 registrars and all others will be placed on a waiting list. Upon course registration, citizens will be sent a schedule. Deadline to register is July 21, 2006.

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