Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

North County CERT honored by Horn

The North County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) was honored by San Diego County Fifth District Supervisor Bill Horn on Friday, March 6, for their hard work and dedication to the communities of Fallbrook, De Luz, Rainbow and Bonsall.

Of late, CERT team members have been hard at work placing logistic support trailers in the communities, fully stocked with emergency food, water and medicine.

The trailers, along with a truck and supplies, were purchased through a grant obtained from the County of San Diego with the help of Supervisor Horn’s office to assist CERT members if they needed supplies to help their neighborhoods in a natural disaster.

The CERT program was put into place to train community members to assist in the event of disasters like wildfire, floods, earthquakes and more. The program advocates self-sufficiency by teaching lifesaving measures that allows citizens to survive until emergency personnel arrive.

The North County CERT team was created in August 2005 as a way to support professional emergency responders in the area.

Under the direction of Fire Prevention Specialist James Beebe of North County Fire Protection District, CERT members are trained to provide damage assessment, victim assistance, shelter management and evacuation guidance.

Members respond to disasters and participate in drills and exercises after receiving 24 hours of initial training.

Continuing education programs, consisting of quarterly three-hour refresher drills and full-day exercises, maintain team readiness in case of emergency.

Since its foundation, North County CERT has trained more than 400 community members, making this group the largest of its kind in San Diego County. The new goal is to have trained 1,000 members by 2012.

Having Horn acknowledge the CERT team’s hard work is “uplifting,” said Beebe.

After taking a tour of the different trailers used by the CERT teams when on location, Supervisor Horn congratulated the group for their efforts in protecting the area.

“[The team members] have been working hard and wouldn’t be where they are without the support of Supervisor Horn’s office,” said Beebe. “This is a proactive response to area disasters, not a reactive one.”

For more information on the team, http://www.northcountycert.com.

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