CERT plans drill at USU
The Campus Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be carrying out an emergency drill next week to help promote safety awareness within the campus community.
CERT is organized by the Utah State University campus police, headed by Sgt. Lynn Wright, who is also the emergency management coordinator for the USU police department.
“The goal of the CERT is to provide as much safety, care and response as we possibly can to the campus community,” Wright said.
A team of four to five people from every building on campus is trained to assist during sudden disasters. They went through a 21-hour-intensive training and are certified by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They will be carrying out the emergency drill Monday at 9 a.m. at the Agriculture and Science Building, Biology and Natural Resources Building, Old Main, the Taggart Student Center and the University Inn.
Mark Fishburn, manager of The Hub and The Quick Stop, is also one of the instructors for the CERT.
When asked about the upcoming drill, he said, “It will be nice to have every one involved.”
CERT started in California approximately 15 years ago. Its primary responsibility was to educate the communities throughout California in assisting professional rescuers and emergency responders, such as the firefighters and ambulance during catastrophic disasters, Wright said.
The program was later adopted by FEMA as a nation-wide program. Originally known as the Community Emergency Response Team, it was renamed the CERT to match the environment, Wright said.
Ten years ago when USU experienced a bomb threat, the entire campus was taken off-guard and evacuated, said John DeVilbiss, executive director for the University’s public relations and marketing department. The university was unprepared for the “wake up call,” but with the CERT program being carried out, the school will be more equipped with trained personnel to assist the campus community if any catastrophic disaster hits the campus. He hopes the CERT will “awaken the people to the inevitable.”
For more information about how to be involved in the CERT, please contact Wright at 797-1967.