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THE 1st CERT TEAM IN NEW YORK STATE Bill Empey, Rochester, New York Fire Department In October of 2001, Fire Chief Floyd A. Madison made the decision to implement a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in Rochester, New York. Rochester, the third largest city in New York State is located on the south shore of Lake Ontario. It's the home of Eastman Kodak, Bausch and Lomb, Xerox and Wegmans Food Markets. The CERT concept originated in the south and on the west coast where the effects of hurricanes and earthquakes have the potential to tax the ability of the local emergency responders to deliver services in a timely manner. In Rochester an event such as a blizzard or an ice or wind storm would most likely trigger a response from CERT. Graduates are well trained in a number of fundamental practices and procedures that allow them to take care of themselves and others during an emergency that overwhelms normally available resources and causes response delays. These citizens would be called upon to check on their neighbors, assess damage, assume a leadership role until professional help can arrive and relay information to responding emergency providers. But they are also trained in life saving skills as well. Each graduate of the program completes a course in first aid, CPR, patient assessment and in the use of the semi automatic defibrillator. Providing this additional training means having citizens who are available to aid anyone at anytime should the need arise.
	In 1999, under the leadership of Mayor William A. Johnson the City Council adopted Rochester 2010: the Renaissance. This comprehensive plan is founded on three themes: Responsibility; Opportunity; and Community. We saw the CERT program as a way of strengthening our community through citizen involvement, by embracing creativity and vision and developing cooperative neighborhoods whose citizens work together to improve the quality of life of their community. When it came time to recruit citizens for CERT, it was only natural that we use the 2010 Plan as the blueprint for our program. We decided to target the citizens in one specific area of the City, in the hopes of creating an enthusiastic core group that would serve as the model for all other teams to come. The results exceeded our expectations. We are now conducting our third CERT class, and have booked classes into the middle of 2003.
We've found that the CERT graduates have a potential for service that we'd never considered when we were developing the program. Our graduates, working with the local neighborhood associations and County Health Department and the fire service took on the task of evacuation preplanning at their area senior citizen high rise buildings, identified at‑risk individuals who would need special services if there was a disruption in public utility services and developed a data base of neighbors who rely on meals on wheels and who would be the first to suffer if the local infrastructure broke down.
As with any successful project, communication is the key. Deputy Chief Ralph Privitere, who oversees all training for the Department and who's a champion of the CERT program believes that the citizens must know exactly what is expected of them and what they can expect from the fire department. An atmosphere of trust and support is imperative, since many team members are going into a classroom type situation for the first time in many years. Additionally, much of the material is new and unfamiliar to the members. Patience, respect and dedication on the part of the presenters has been rewarded with enthusiasm and success on the part of the team. As a way to promote the program, and as one more way of building excitement and pride in their efforts, we produce a video that tracks the team through their training. On graduation night, the video is shown and a copy given to each CERT member. It's important that CERT become a part of the Department's organizational structure. It is a valuable educational tool and the citizens who participate are too valuable a resource for the program to disappear. We keep connected through semi annual refresher training, the development of new modules and by including CERT members in Department events and activities. It's just as important to make sure that the rank and file in the Department understand the purpose of the program. Misinformation can be deadly to a new initiative, especially in tight budget times. CERT teams are an excellent complement to the work already being done in our Department. They can gain access to many of those who, try as we might, we've never been able to reach, and they have proven to be an invaluable advocate for us. But, CERT was not designed or intended to replace professional firefighters. The CERT program has been an outstanding promotional vehicle for our Department but more importantly, it is the right thing to do. The skills and abilities gained by the participants not only serve them, but their neighbors as well. Our program model is "Knowledge is Power". The graduates of our CERT program have proven that and the community is all the better for it.

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