NORTH BRUNSWICK – The newest members of the North Brunswick Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) were introduced during the March 18 Township Council meeting.
Daniel Burke, Leroy Burke, Joanne Deluca, Nisha Desai, Christine Henning and Shweta Tiwari recently completed 20 hours of general training in disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue operations, trauma psychology and terrorism, according to a proclamation read in their honor.
CERT members are ready and able to assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help, according to the proclamation. They work under the guidance of the Office of Emergency Management during times of disaster, often assisting with shelter operations for displaced residents or by providing staffing for the Emergency Operations Call Center. CERT members also participate in missing persons searches, as well as provide security and basic First Aid during local community events, according to the proclamation.
“The CERT team is really critical to this and every other township,” Mayor Francis “Mac” Womack said. “[W]hen things really go wrong for a family, or the town as a whole … we’re really grateful [the team] will be out there.”