Congratulations to our Issaquah Community Emergency Response Team!
The program recently earned the Preparing the Whole Community honor at the National CERT Awards.
The award recognizes an organization, program or jurisdiction that successfully engages the whole community to improve disaster preparedness and resilience, encourages and explores ways to develop whole community partnerships, and advocates a grassroots approach to emergency planning.
Established in 2005, Issaquah's CERT program has grown to more than 600 people. The program is a part of Issaquah Citizen Corps, a nonprofit organization that promotes emergency awareness, preparedness and response.
CERT members work with the community's first responders under the management and guidance of the City's emergency management team.
CERT members deployed during the 2006 Hanukkah Eve windstorm, 2009 Issaquah Creek flooding, 2012 severe winter weather and the 2014 SR 530 slide. Members recently participated in the Cascadia Rising regional earthquake exercise.
"The commitment, dedication and skill demonstrated by the Issaquah CERT in disaster and non-disaster situations have been exemplary," said Brenda Bramwell, Issaquah's emergency management coordinator.
CERT educates people about disaster preparedness and trains participants in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.
Registration is now open for the fall training session.
In addition, September is National Preparedness Month — a great opportunity to prepare your family for emergencies.