Jim McPheeters of Fairfax County remembers working outside on a hot, summer day when he began to feel the onset of a heart attack — symptoms he was able to identify because of his role on Fairfax’s Community Emergency Response Team.
McPheeters said he immediately told his wife, took a cold shower hoping to cool down and got ready to head to the hospital. As McPheeters and his wife were about to leave, he said he decided to call 911. While dialing, he collapsed to the floor. The 911 operator talked his wife through CPR and saved his life — stemming from something as simple as communicating with his wife when understanding his symptoms.
“It was only because of my CERT training…I saved my own life,” McPheeters said. “So that was a pretty good investment.”
CERT is a national program that provides a consistent approach to volunteer training, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency website. CERT training allows professional responders to rely on volunteers for organizational assistance so they can focus on more complex tasks during disasters. The program can ease some of the pressure on first responders — a potential benefit for volunteer agencies that already struggle to recruit and retain enough people as call volumes rise.
Localities across Virginia have CERT programs and have created their own teams to fit community needs. An example: In Fairfax and Rockbridge counties, groups were created to assist firefighters when they respond to emergency calls.
Firefighter rehab — a program that provides rest, hydration, nourishment and organizational assistance to firefighters during emergencies — is one of the primary functions of Rockbridge’s CERT.
“We try to loosen the load and help the emergency people do what they’re trained to do,” said Margaret Ann Paxton, the CERT president in Rockbridge County, which is a volunteer position. “And that is basically learning how to do things without getting yourself hurt and being confident.”
Volunteers bring food, water, a generator and a cot where firefighters can lie down, among other things. They also take over administrative duties, like ensuring radios have batteries and keeping track of everyone’s duties and location.
“If there’s a real emergency, [a] large thing, it can be overwhelming,” Paxton said. “It helps to have people that can bring you food so you can stay there and get stuff done. You don’t have to worry … you just walk up to the thing and say, ‘I need another battery.’”
Fairfax County’s canteen team provides the same assistance as the firefighter rehab in Rockbridge. Fairfax’s team has a truck with all necessary supplies, and in Rockbridge, a decommissioned ambulance is used as transport.
Rockbridge County Fire Chief Nathan Ramsey said the firefighter rehab is “invaluable.”
“It kind of takes the burden off of someone else having to coordinate the response piece of rehab,” Ramsey said.
In addition to firefighter rehab, Rockbridge’s CERT is trained in shelter management and to work in the emergency operations center when needed. Team members also offer assistance to residents at large events as immediate first aid.
Rockbridge’s CERT uses community events as an opportunity to inform residents. Paxton said team members explain the importance of having emergency plans in place and having current photos of family and pets and 72-hour boxes — a kit of essential supplies to sustain you during a disaster.
The national basic CERT course, Until Help Arrives, equips volunteers to “be the emergency responder” until first responders arrive, including checking for injuries without injuring the person further, understanding how to make a good 911 call and ensuring the volunteer doesn’t also become a victim. The course covers disaster preparedness, terrorism awareness, CERT organization, disaster psychology, fire safety and utility controls, disaster medical operations and light search-and-rescue.
“The basic CERT training … gives you ways to feel confident instead of afraid or scared that you’re gonna do the wrong thing,” Paxton said.
CERT’s history
CERT became a national program in 1993 after the Los Angeles Fire Department developed the concept in 1985. Members of that department traveled to Japan to assess earthquake preparedness and formulated the idea for civilians to help themselves and others during major disasters, according to the department. Later that year, a massive earthquake struck Mexico City, and more than 10,000 people lost their lives. About 100 untrained volunteers who stepped in to rescue others also lost their lives.
The CERT basic training teaches volunteers to triage, so they can help as many people as possible.
“You’re not out there to save everybody. You’re not out there to save the world because you can’t,” McPheeters said. “We teach you how to make those kinds of decisions with rules of thumb and observations that the professionals use.”
CERT training is free, and local programs are funded by their locality and donations. Funding is used for equipment and training.
Additional training includes how to do CPR, how to respond to an opioid overdose and what to do in an active shooter situation.
CERT also has custom programs for teens, college campuses or the workplace. At Patrick & Henry Community College in Martinsville, the training prepares about 25 members of faculty and administration to step in when they’re needed, whether that’s a disaster, a medical emergency or a drill. There are two CERT members per building to ensure campus connectivity.
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Gary Dove, the college’s chief of police, said he remembers when a student began seizing outside of a CERT member’s office. He said the faculty member, because of the training, was able to take control of the situation — serving as the point of communication, keeping everyone back and moving furniture to ensure the student’s head wasn’t bumped.
The CERT program allows members at the community college to trust themselves in an emergency and have the courage to step up, Dove said.
“That’s what CERT is really all about, taking your skills and contributing them then into your neighborhood,” McPheeters said.
Volunteer numbers are a problem in some localities
In Rockbridge and Fairfax counties, anyone can go through CERT training, but being part of the team is a larger commitment. Rockbridge’s CERT members are typically expected to serve 20 hours each season, Paxton said. McPheeters said that when he was in a leadership role with Fairfax County’s CERT, he sometimes put in 60 hours a week as a volunteer.
In Rockbridge, a county northeast of Roanoke, more than 120 people have gone through the basic training since it began in 2011. In Fairfax, more than 6,000 people have completed the basic training since 2004. The two counties have the same percentage of involvement, since the Fairfax County has a population of more than 1.1 million people compared to Rockbridge’s 22,000.
After completing the training, volunteers can join any CERT in the country. But some localities struggle to find volunteers. In Henry County, the CERT program was discontinued due to lack of participation.
“It ebbs and flows based on, well, I wish I knew,” McPheeters said. “Right now, we’re seeing a resurgence in people signing up for the classes.”
Any locality can establish a CERT program by following these steps:
- Secure a sponsoring organization for your CERT program. The organization must be governmental, like a fire department, police department or emergency management office.
- Register through FEMA to be part of the national CERT program.
- Evaluate local hazards and community needs. Talk to local agencies to learn how trained volunteer support could help first responders.
- Secure resources. CERT programs do not require a large budget. Rockbridge allocates about $800 to its CERT program each year for training and necessary supplies.
- Send leaders through CERT Train-the-Trainer course, so local leaders can instruct the basic CERT course to potential volunteers.
- Recruit volunteers and begin CERT trainings. In Fairfax, they recruit volunteers by going to local community events, advertising on social media and even going door-to-door.
Learn more about FEMA’s steps to start a Community Emergency Response Team here.
It is hard to get people involved, especially in Virginia, McPheeters said, because there isn’t an expected recurring natural disaster to specifically prepare for. In other areas, they focus on tornadoes or hurricanes.
McPheeters said outreach has been the most successful tool for Fairfax — setting up tents, booths or tables at local events to advertise. He said it’s important to use the internet as a tool and plug into any social network you can. Advertising through social media has brought in a more diverse group of volunteers, including involvement from younger generations, McPheeters said.
“When I went through with the program 20 years ago, it was a bunch of retired, Caucasian, mostly men,” McPheeters said.
Fairfax’s leadership team has 30 volunteers, in addition to other members of the team. In Rockbridge, a smaller county, there are a total of seven CERT members.
CERT is even more important in rural areas, Paxton said. Rockbridge covers a large territory, and many of the fire departments are made up of volunteers, she said.
“If you take CERT training, it doesn’t mean you have to become a CERT member, but you will learn a lot on how to take care of those in your house, your neighbors, yourself, and how to do things that make sense,” Paxton said.
CERT increases self-sufficiency, as well as individual and situational awareness, which would be really helpful in rural areas, McPheeters said.
“You can’t even holler to your next-door neighbor,” McPheeters said. “There’s nobody there to hear you.”
McPheeters said people in rural areas already do a great job at sharing with one another, leaning into a sense of community and being self-sufficient.
“Let’s capitalize on the strengths that we already have within our community,” McPheeters said. “It’s just another step. It’s using that awareness, sense of community, and just putting the emergency response scarf on it and capitalizing there.”
