Fargo Cass Public Health Training People For Any Emergency With CERT Course
The class lasts eight weeks
FARGO, N.D. — Emergency planners at Fargo Cass Public Health say one of the best ways to handle an emergency situation is through effective communication.
“Communication is the best tool that everybody has. In all types of emergencies, communication is going to be what saves people’s lives. Having a plan for most situations. That’s the most important thing,” said Matt Nelson, emergency planner for Fargo Cass Public Health.
Now people around the metro are learning how to create their own plans both at home and at work through Fargo Cass Public Health’s eight week course on emergency preparedness.
And they’re starting by learning how to put out a small fire.
“It’s very easy but you definitely want to practice because if you saw my clip, you saw that I ran out of compression so I had to get a different fire extinguisher,” said JoAnna Olson, who’s a student in the class.
The class is also teaching students how to respond when there’s a fire, tornado, hazardous materials released or an active shooter situation.
Some students say people need to be more self–sufficient in these types of emergencies.
“It is very important to be able to handle minor emergencies on your own just because you are responsible for yourself and the people around you. I have a two and a half year old step son so if something happens in our home, I want to be able to resolve it myself while we’re waiting for emergency response to come,” Olson said.
Because many of these skills are indispensable.
“I think people realize that you approach every emergency, disaster situation in the same way. If you’re prepared, if you have some general emergency preparedness supplies on hand, they’ll go a long way in every type of emergency,” Nelson said.
Community Emergency Response Team training is free and open to the public.
Next week’s class will focus on search and rescue operations.
Classes are every Tuesday from 8–10:00 a.m. at West Acres Mall.
