Common Purpose Found in DMFD CERT Membership
Rural and suburban counterparts, professional and retired businesspeople, emergency service providers, webmasters, communications, and logistics experts, health professionals, and parents and grandparents who simply want to contribute to the safety of their community, can all find common ground in the Daisy Mountain Fire Department Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response Team (DMFD CERT) managed and coordinated by Captain Dave Jensen and Engineer Paul Schickel.
DMFD CERT meets on the third Tuesday of every month in the Training Room at Station 141, at 43814 N. New River Road. In addition to the regular training and reviews at these monthly meetings, CERT members and their guests are invited to attend supplemental training, events, and drills. Monthly training opportunities for First Aid and CPR certification, HIPPA, Landing Zone Safety for Emergency Aircraft, and APS’ Electrical Safety Training seminar.
Major events this year included: assisting in triage set-up and patient transportation at John C. Lincoln Deer Valley during the Coyote Crisis Campaign, volunteer reception, communications, and temporary sheltering at the Sky Harbor Airport Drill, and multiple levels of participation during the West Valley Regional Disaster Preparedness Drill. Drills ranged from a few hours, to 12-hour shifts spread out over multiple days.
DMFD CERT was also present at the Anthem Days Festival in April, exhibiting disaster preparedness kits and promoting CERT affiliation with area businesses. They were able to distribute brochures on general family preparedness, as well as their newest brochure for Pet Evacuation Preparedness (PEP). This new brochure promotes pet-owners to consider the needs of their pets in the event of evacuation without owners, in-place sheltering, or at emergency sheltering.
Helpful lists and further web-based information promote development of personal safety and preparedness plans. The CERT trailer was also recently outfitted with supplies for temporary sheltering of small, domestic pets. DMFD CERT looks forward to participating in other neighborhood and community events, please contact us with your dates so we can schedule a trailer set-up and demo.
Looking ahead to Disaster Preparedness Month in September, Program Manager, Captain Dave Jenson, will be designing a series of community-education classes to be presented throughout the month. He is seeking business partnerships for the Citizen Corp programs, class location sites at nearby businesses, and support for instructional materials. Interested business owners may contact by e-mailing their interest to Dave.Jensen@DAISYMOUNTAINFIRE.ORG or TessBailey@DMFDCC.ORG.
At the business level, the newly formed Strategic Planning Committee and Advertising Team, as well as the existing liaisons to other Citizen Corps and communications organizations, are all working together to promote CERT’s- and it’s sister organization, DMFD Fire Corps’- presence and in the communities they serve. Please e-mail us with your interest and questions: CERT@DAISYMOUNTAINFIRE.ORG.
