By Dean Abbot
Correspondent

Tricia Wynne had been looking for a way to help. She was especially interested in ways she could lend a hand to the police and firefighters who serve in Goffstown.

When she heard Police Chief Michael French was trying to organize a Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) she knew she wanted to be involved.

The CERT is a program jointly administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, which trains citizens of local communities to lend support to first responders in disaster situations or other emergencies.

The team is looking for new recruits. The CERT is offering training for anyone interested in being prepared for a disaster or volunteering in case one occurs.

The training course will meet twice a week for six weeks and will cover simple preparations and responses to disasters, keeping one’s self and neighborhood safe, providing support to firefighters, police, other professionals and more.

Wynne, who is chairman of the Goffstown Corps Council/CERT, said the training course will provide participants with knowledge in basic first aid skills, fire suppression, light search and rescue, and shelter management.

Volunteers can expect to acquire enough knowledge “to be able to help without getting in their (first responder’s) way,” she said.

The training consists of 16 hours of classroom instruction and 10 hours of hands-on practice. The course is suitable for anyone, Wynne said, regardless of his level of physical ability.

One member of the first class was a wheelchair user and successfully completed the course, Wynne said.

One example of when CERT members may be called upon is a major evacuation of a school in the event of a disaster or bomb threat. While police officers and firefighters move children and teachers, CERT volunteers could set up phones and notify parents where to pick up their children, Wynne said.

Wynne stressed that though members would be exposed to a lot of different areas in their training, no one would be required to serve in any capacity where they were uncomfortable should the team be activated in an emergency.

Jess Koch, a Goffstown firefighter who serves as training coordinator for the local program, agreed.

Citizens can take the CERT training simply to be safer around their own homes and would never be required to help out should the team be activated during a crisis, Koch said. “The training is designed to help them help their families first,” he said.

The level of involvement a trained CERT member sees up to the individual. While some volunteers may never help out in a crisis, others seek out far-flung places they can help.

After the recent Florida hurricanes, Koch said, CERT members from as far away as Oregon were on the scene.

This is an important opportu- nity for everyone, said Wynne.

“People who are prepared for a problem are going to have less trouble when it happens, and that means our firefighters and police and other responders will be able to be used where they’re needed most,” she said.

Classes begin Feb. 8 and will be held every Tuesday and Thursday night from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and through March at Goffstown High School’s adult education program.

Call the GAP at 497-4841, ext. 356, for registration information.

For more information on the Goffstown CERT or to register for the class, call Tricia Wynne at 497-2259.