New Page 2

	AVERT MEETS CHALLENGE Bob Fowler, Utah Emergency Management The Association of Volunteer Emergency Response Teams (AVERT) of Salt Lake County, State of Utah is one of very few non-profit IRS Section 501(c)(3) corporations in the United States associated with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Incorporated in September 1997, the purpose of AVERT is to develop, support and direct the CERT program in Salt Lake County to ensure its continuity and to enable citizens to respond effectively to disasters and other extraordinary events.
AVERT was the creation of Inspector Chris Cage, a young enthusiastic Salt Lake County CERT Coordinator. He envisioned that an organization of volunteer citizens could help the county fire department coordinate and promote CERT training. As a non-profit corporation, AVERT could solicit corporate donations to supplement the county’s sparse CERT program operating budget and to facilitate refresher training after the basic 21 hour course had been completed. Inspector Cage found a cadre of nine people to take on the challenge and the program was launched. Over the past five years, more than 5000 Salt Lake County citizens have received CERT training. This has greatly contributed to neighborhood preparedness for a major disaster that could occur at any time. Northern Utah lies within an area that has a potential for deadly seismic activity. Geologists are constantly reminding residents that communities along the Wasatch Front are overdue for a devastating earthquake. Whether this happens tomorrow or in two hundred years, it’s prudent to be prepared for such events. Other potential disasters also exist. Severe winter storms with power outages, hazardous material accidents, floods and fires are but a few of the disasters that could hit our Utah communities. CERT teams would perform a great service in the Incident Command System as professional responders’ resources are pushed to the limit.
	One of the greatest achievements of AVERT has been the distribution of more than $500,000 of donated medical supplies to teams around the State of Utah. Configured sets including blankets, sheets, towels, surgical gloves, bandages, gauze, stretchers and an assortment of miscellaneous supplies were issued to120 teams statewide. Verl Jensen generated the premiere equipment cache shown here in the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay, Utah. Partly from AVERT donations, but mostly from his own ingenuity, Mr. Jensen has developed a very sophisticated cache of emergency supplies. A Sea-Land container was obtained through the efforts of Inspector Chris Cage prior to the formation of AVERT.
Not without major problems, AVERT has had to deal with the great number of trained CERT members who lacked team integrity and identification. Many team members had no idea who their team leaders were and team leaders had no knowledge of who or where their members were. The solution was found in dividing the county into a grid map. Each grid consisting of 12 city blocks would have a coordinator and an unspecified number of team leaders depending on how many trained CERT members who reside in that sector. Rosters of trained CERT-trained citizens were mailed to the grid coordinators and team leaders. The intent was to have the team leaders take the initiative to contact each member and organize teams in their areas. So far, this has not worked well and the problem persists. AVERT publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Emergency Responder. Information on drills, available training and articles of general interest to CERT members is included. This has been an effective means of communicating with those remaining in the program. During the first quarter of 1999, the Salt Lake County Commission had a difficult decision to make. Due to a shortfall in the county budget, several vital programs had to be non-funded. Sadly, CERT was one of the casualties. Several of the local municipalities have active CERT programs but the county was forced to end their training in spite of a growing public interest in neighborhood preparedness. The viability of the Salt Lake County program is now the sole responsibility of AVERT. Still without corporate donations, this is a major challenge for the new corporation. Now with new leadership and enthusiasm, AVERT is ready to resume the challenges of obtaining corporate sponsors and organizing teams in Salt Lake County. It has been a struggle, but with the continued effort of the dedicated members of the Board of Directors, solutions will be found and the communities of Salt Lake County will be safer as a result. For more information on AVERT, you may contact Bob Fowler at: bfowler@dps.state.ut.us.

Return to *THE CONNECTION*