Community Emergency Response Team
CERT is a national organization, funded primarily by FEMA, and dedicated to training citizens to aid in times of crisis. The CERT committee sponsors and delivers following course:
CERT Ham Radio Team to offer classes
February 14, 2011
for Individuals interested in getting their Ham Radio Technicians License
On February 3, 2010 an article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel “Ham Radio: A fading hobby – until emergencies hit” Gil Chapin of the Orange County Communication Auxiliary was quoted in the article as saying, “Although the death of ham radio has been forecast many times, Chapin thinks the advent of the cell phone - which allows people to speak across long distances at low coast – has done more to tamp down the enthusiasm about ham radio than anything else. But during a natural disaster, cell phone and other communications may not work when ham radio still will.”
Ham radio operators played a major roll in communications with Haiti after the earthquake and the disaster relief headquarters in Miami. After hurricane Katrina ham radio was the only form of communications for many communities.
Locally both the Orlando and Orange County Emergency Operations Center are set up with base stations to provide communications for first responders in case a major communications failure.
Several years ago the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Ham Radio Team was established. The CERT Ham team is responsible for staffing the ham radio base in the communications room at the Orlando Emergency Operations Center.
Manuel Soto, Emergency Manager for the City of Orlando, envisions Ham radio operators as a valuable asset after a hurricane to keep the Orlando Emergency Operations Center aware of what is happening in Orlando neighborhoods. CERT Ham radio welcomes licensed operators to their weekly Wednesday evening net, 7 PM, 146.600 MHz simplex.
Starting February 14, the team will start an eight-week class to assist anyone interested in getting their technicians license to assist in disaster communications, no Morse code required. The classes will be held at the Orlando Emergency Operations Center on Monday nights. There is no cost for the class; the manual will cost $29.99.For more information contact team leader – Jerry Porter at kf4zrn@bellsouth.net, 407-299-7141.
Submitted by Bill Jennings CollegeParkCERT@aol.com, 407-898-2946
Emergency Preparedness Training for Citizens
"What to do before, during, and after a disaster!"
The two evening training course is sponsored by the College Park Community Emergency Response Team. During the first class, citizens will be trained in what they can do before a disaster to prepare themselves, their homes, and their families; and what a citizen can expect during a disaster and how a citizen can respond to the needs of their families and neighbors after a disaster. The second night of the training will be emergency first aid. The focus of the training will be on hurricanes; the course will also review tornadoes, wild fires, terrorism and chemical emergencies.
