By Lisa Spengler
They wear green vests with reflective strips of tape. They wear green shirts, some bright green, some dark green. They have green baseball caps and green hard hats. They carry a green duffle bag filled with emergency supplies. And they all wear the insignia Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) proudly.
Who are they? They are your neighbors, friends or co-workers. They are accountants, homemakers, nurses, retirees, police officers, firefighters, salesmen, former military members, students, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters, and the list goes on. Just everyday people who want to be better prepared for emergencies and disasters that threaten Ocean City and Upper Township.
Upper Township Emergency Management Coordinator Scott Morgan started the CERT program in 2005. Frank Donato, Ocean City’s chief financial officer, became Ocean City Emergency Management Coordinator in 2007 and has been involved with CERT ever since. Both serve as course managers and instructors and have been instrumental in making CERT what it is today.
“Offering and being involved with the CERT program has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my 18-year career in government thus far,” said Donato. “First of all, meeting so many quality people from all walks of life and varying backgrounds has been such a great experience in and of itself.
“Coupling that with the ability to share our collective knowledge with these selfless volunteers makes it truly rewarding,” Donato continued. “Our philosophy is simple: whether you come back after completing the program to assist us in actual events or not, the more people in our communities that we can train to become self-sufficient in emergencies, who can also help to prepare their friends, families and neighbors, the better off we all are.”
All volunteers complete an 11-week course, one evening per week. The program training includes all aspects of disaster preparation, including shelter management, first aid, Heart Saver (CPR/AED), fire safety and light search and rescue, disaster psychology, terrorism, animals in disasters, nursing home evacuation, and traffic control/special events.
Morgan, also a retired Ocean City police detective said, “We were very fortunate, as Emergency Management Coordinators for Upper Township and Ocean City, that our city administrations and the communities in which we live and work embraced, in 2005, the nationwide use of the Community Emergency Response Team, which was established in the late ’80s.
“We recognized that our local residents would very likely be on their own during the early stages of a catastrophic disaster,” Morgan noted. “Basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills would improve the ability of our residents to survive, essentially to help themselves, family members and to assist others before, during and after an event until emergency responders could and would respond.”
Morgan explained that CERT’s coordinators recognized that the training program promoted a partnership effort between emergency services and the people they serve.
“Our goal is for our professional emergency personnel in Ocean City, Upper Township and often outside professional agencies to train members of our neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic emergency and disaster response skills,” he said.
CERT members are then integrated into the emergency response capability in the cities under the direction of their municipal Office of Emergency Management.
“I am very proud to have been a part of coordinating this CERT training process since 2005 and I encourage more of our locals to become a part of our team if for no other reason to be prepared,” Morgan said.
Ocean City Police Department Lt. Brian Hopely and Ocean City Fire Chief James Smith are both deputy emergency directors. They provide key instruction and support, not only during the 11-week course, but continually throughout the year.
“The CERT team is an invaluable resource for our communities. People with such diverse backgrounds come together to assist their neighbors in a time of need,” Smith said.
“Besides their training and experience, the CERT members offer compassion,” Smith added. “It takes a special person to volunteer their time to assist others, even more so when they may be leaving their homes behind that are affected by the same disastrous weather event. However, these dedicated members put others first and that is a very special quality and character trait.”
During the past few months, the men and women in green could be found strategically placed along the Ocean City Boardwalk assisting with crowd control and directions for the Miss New Jersey Parade, the 109th Annual Baby Parade, the Hot Rod Parade and Display, and, most recently, Ocean City’s Aerobatic Air Show and Parachute Pyrotechnic Show.
CERT members will also be assisting with a number of upcoming events during October and November in both Ocean City and Upper Township.
George Westermann, Upper Township CERT member and Amanda Doughten, Ocean City CERT member, were positioned on the beach near the Music Pier to prevent onlookers from accessing the drop zone used by the Fastrax Skydiving Team during Saturday’s Parachute Pyrotechnic Show.
“Helping with crowd control and being well-trained and prepared for any situation or emergency, is what we do,” Doughten said.
With hurricane season upon us, as evidenced by the recent devastation in the Carolinas, there is no better time than now to be aware of the CERT program and the volunteers that are trained and available to help.
The mission of CERT is simple: “Do the greatest good for the greatest number of people” when a major disaster strikes the community. The execution of that statement is what drives these volunteers. One of the most rewarding aspects of being a CERT member is by being able to help the community through a traumatic experience.
Richard Wadell, a Vietnam veteran, has been a CERT member in Ocean City since 2006.
“My wife and I rescue Greyhounds. We love animals,” Wadell said. “We would help the fire department evacuate people to higher ground and would take care of their pets while they sought shelter. Becoming a CERT member was another way we could help those with pets during a crisis.”
In 2012, Cape May County unveiled one of the first ever pet evacuation trailers. This trailer is a comprehensive public safety initiative. It includes almost 30 installed cages that can be utilized in an evacuation or emergency.
The trailer is equipped to fit cats and dogs of numerous sizes and is fully prepared and customized for the comfort and safety of pets with climate control and running water. There is also a veterinary work station, and a generator hook-up. More information on the trailer and pet preparation can be found at: https://capemaycountynj.gov/169/Prepare-Your-Pets.
Westermann, a recent Upper Township CERT graduate and board president for Beacon Animal Rescue in Ocean View, recently explained the evacuation plan for the center.
“As part of our evacuation plan, we sent a questionnaire to our volunteers asking if they were able to foster a cat or dog in the event of a natural or man-made incident,” Westermann said. “We have a carrier or crate for each one of our cats and dogs to assist with transportation to another location. In addition, we supply each foster volunteer with food, water and food bowls, a leash, cat litter and any other supplies as needed. Medical and vaccination records are taken to a safe location as well as stored electronically.”
After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Ocean City CERT member James Pieklo played a key role in recovery relief by performing welfare checks and damage assessments. A CERT member since 2010, Pieklo also runs the CERT newsletter, which is published two to three times per year and keeps CERT members up-to-date on community events as well as available on-line training programs through the FEMA Emergency Management Institute.
Since 2005, the CERT program has trained close to 200 members. The 2017 class was the biggest to date and included 36 members from Ocean City and 12 from Upper Township and two from Somers Point who were able to join in.
CERT members are trained and poised to help during natural or man-made disasters. They work closely with local police, fire and emergency management agencies. They are here for you, their neighbors and friends. They are prepared and they encourage everyone else to be prepared as well.
A valuable list of resources and information can be found at www.weather.gov and by downloading the following apps:
– CodeRED Mobile Alert
– The Weather Channel
– Ocean City, N.J.
Set “Government and/or Emergency Alerts” on your iPhone or Android.
Suggested websites: www.ocnj.us/oem, www.ocnj.us, www.ocnj.us/octides, www.capemaycountynj.gov, www.uppertownship.com.
If you are interested in becoming a CERT member, more information can be found at: www.ocnj.us/oem.
Editor’s note: Lisa Spengler is a CERT member for Atlantic County and Cape May County (Ocean City/Upper Township).
