As you may know, September is preparedness month. There are so many different ways we can be prepared that I have been wondering where to begin. Then I learned something new: we can be prepared simply by getting enough sleep. Montgomery County CERT was privileged to host a presentation at our September General meeting by Jennifer Pearce and Ryan Smith on the tragic outcomes of Drowsy Driving.
As CERTs we sometimes push ourselves for the greater good. We push ourselves to help others. But pushing too much with too little rest can result in breaking the cardinal rule of CERT: DON’T BRING ANOTHER VICTIM TO THE SCENE. Be sure to get enough rest and know when to take a break and rehab yourself. Our thanks to Jennifer and Ryan for sharing a deeply personal story of pain and loss.
This fall has been, and is, very busy for Montgomery County CERT. We have three CERT basic Classes from August to December, multiple CPR classes, a Hemorrhage Control class, multiple Go Team Deployments, and ongoing work designing future CERT programs and capabilities. Please visit the CERT Training page to sign up for classes (CERT Basic #2019-04 is now open).
Lastly, please send good thoughts to several of our members who are working through some significant health issues this fall. We wish them all a speedy recovery. For Preparedness Month, here is a link to the current FEMA newsletter: FEMA Newsletter- September 2019
Greg St. James
Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.)
Program Manager
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service
100 Edison Park Drive
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
240-777-2407