Bob McCue and CERT

It was a pleasure to welcome Bob McCue to our meeting of June 13th. So many of us know Bob from his many years on the West Hartford Police Force, and his wife Renee, who has always been omnipresent at Town Hall.

 

In retirement, Bob has taken the helm of CERT: The Community Emergency Response Team. CERTs were started in 1985 in California, home to many emergencies and mass disasters! They had studied emergency response in many countries and found that the most effective emergency response was seen in Japan. The Japanese were very good at organizing their neighborhoods and enabling the residents to help in an emergency. But there was one big problem: without proper training, the rescuers were often injured in the process of helping (or worse).

 

So the CERT program sought to improve upon that model. There is a 20 hour basic course covering first aid, preparedness, and how to respond in an emergency. The group is open to anyone who works in, or lives in, the town. You have to be over 18 and there are once a month meetings. A TeenCERT Program has also been established in the West Hartford High Schools.

 

More information can be found here: https://www.westhartfordct.gov/town-departments/fire-department/emergency-management/community-emergency-response-team-cert

 

And, according to Rotarian Carolyn Malon, being a member of CERT gets you plenty of VERY USEFUL SWAG!