Community Emergency Response Team trains for everything
By: Lacey Korevec
There’s a new team of heroes forming in Cranbury.
Though hurricanes, terrorist strikes, floods and fires are grim thoughts, 31 Cranbury residents have started a free 12-week course to learn how to help the township handle these types of disasters through a program called Community Emergency Response Team.
CERT began in 1985 by the Los Angeles Fire Department when it recognized that ordinary citizens would likely be forced to fend for themselves in the event of a catastrophic event that might overwhelm local, state and federal services, Cranbury Police Chief John Hansen said. Over the years, communities throughout the nation have been forming their own CERTs and offering residents the opportunity to learn basic survival skills.
Cranbury’s held its third class Tuesday evening in the Cranbury Police Station Training Room, where instruction focused on disaster medical operations and patient treatment and assessment.
The course runs every Tuesday for about two hours and is taught by members of different emergency service organizations each week. The class graduates Nov. 21. Those who are taking part will have learned about fire suppression techniques, search and rescue operations, traffic safety and disaster psychology, how to open and maintain an emergency shelter, how to identify terrorist targets and how to treat emergency, life-threatening conditions. The members are volunteers and are not required to serve the community if they are called by the police department in the case of a disaster.
"It’s a voluntary move on their part," Chief Hansen said. "We will call them should the need arise."
Members of CERT will also earn CPR and first aid certification and learn how to use a defibrillator. After the course is over, the team will continue to be trained and drilled on a regular basis, Chief Hansen said.
"The basic idea is so that people can help themselves, help their neighbors and help the town," he said Tuesday. "When the need arises, these folks are going to be called to duty. If there is some kind of a situation and it’s broad based, where we’re going to need help until we get enough personnel, this is where CERT comes in. They are basically our first line of defense until the cavalry arrives and we can muster services."
Resident Bob Miller, of Evans Drive, said he read about CERT in the newspaper and decided to fill out an application. He retired as a systems engineer for AT&T about a year ago and thought the experience would be valuable. Three weeks into the program, Mr. Miller said he is glad he signed up and has enjoyed being part of it.
"I’m a citizen who has volunteered to help out when called upon by the authorities or when it’s clear that the authorities are in way over their heads," he said. "If a situation is bad, you can’t wave a magic hand and make it better, but you can salvage things in the most rational way available to you at the time. And that’s got to be better than running around like a chicken with your head cut off."
Cranbury Detective Paul Lindenfeld and Patrol Officer Ryan Dworzanski are coordinating the program, which will culminate with an emergency drill.
"We’re still in the planning stages with the Rescue Squad and the Fire Department, but it will simulate some type of large scale disaster that would overwhelm the normal day-to-day emergency services, because that’s kind of what CERT is really there for."
Through the span of the course, CERT receives instruction from local, state and federal groups, including paramedics from the New Jersey Department of Health, the Mercer County Mobile Intensive Care Unit, the Cranbury Police Department, First Aid Squad and Fire Department, Mercer County Emergency Management, New Jersey State Police, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Homeland Security.
The Cranbury Police Department has been planning to host the CERT for over two years, Detective Lindenfeld said. In February 2005, he attended state training for CERT coordinators at the Hamilton State Police Barracks, and he and Officer Dworzanski have since worked together to build resources for the program.
"We figure that a lot of times, police dealing with the public is thought of as negative, and this is a really positive thing," Detective Lindenfeld said. "If they don’t get anything else out of this course, at least by knowing CPR and basic first aid, they may be able to save the life of a family member or a friend. One of the most important links in the chain of survival is having a trained citizen know what to do before police, fire and EMS get there."
Every seat will filled during Tuesday’s training session. Detective Lindenfeld said the department expected the first CERT to have about 24 people in it, but more than 30 residents volunteered and some had to be put on a waiting list.
"The turn out has been tremendous," he said. "We were surprised and we want to be able to accommodate everybody who wants to become involved and we’re anticipating being able to do another course at some point very early in 2007."
James and Debbie Taylor, of Scottsdale Court, signed up for CERT together. Mr. Taylor grew up in town, and he and Ms. Taylor have called Cranbury their home for more than 30 years.
Ms. Taylor said she is glad residents are involved but wishes there were more from different areas of town, as a large number of participants are from the Four Seasons at Cranbury or other areas in the southern part of the township.
"With a group like this, I think it would be important to have different parts of the town represented," she said. I hope that in future groups, more people in different areas will come out for the training. If something were to happen where you weren’t able to travel around town, since this group is focused more on the south end, it would be nice to have people in other parts."
Though they both work, Ms. Taylor said, they keep their Tuesday evenings clear because they feel CERT is an important commitment.
"Since I’m working from home, I’m OK with not traveling," she said. "But he tries to be home by 5:30 on Tuesday nights and we grab something fast to eat and run out to the police station. We’ve kind of made it a priority on Tuesday nights."
After having been in New York City during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, as well as other emergency situations, Ms. Taylor does not feel nervous about being called upon to help out during a major emergency. She has had CPR and first aid training in the past and is glad she can update her certification.
"I stay pretty calm in an emergency," she said. "And I know you have to make some judgment calls, but I think, because I do stay so calm, I can look at the whole situation. I’ll be more comfortable in how I will respond to an emergency after such an intense course and I’m happy to have met these people."
When the group graduates, all of the members will receive emergency bags filled with important survival gear like goggles and safety masks, she said. By that time, the group will also have a team leader and concrete plans about how they will react when they are called to duty, Chief Hansen said.
"When members complete the course, they will select a team leader and an alternate," he said. "And they will have to know an area where they will meet to respond if they are called out."
Chief Hansen said he thinks CERT is an important asset for the community to have and expects that the team to be well prepared to handle anything that might come its way.
"It’s something that’s been ongoing throughout the country for years," he said. "We feel very fortunate that we’ve gotten the response that we have."
Those who are interested in signing up for the next CERT course, which will probably take place in early 2007, can contact Detective Lindenfeld or Officer Dworzanski through e-mail at [email protected] and [email protected], or by calling headquarters at (609) 395-0031 to obtain an application.

