# Presentation: 030741

## Mellissa Brockes (center), Location Administrative Officer at NPARL, started off the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training on Friday evening, March 19, with an introduction welcoming all participants and an explanation of where things are located in the NPARL facility.  Brockes along with NPARL Safety Officer, Jackie Couture, attended the very first CERT training held in the state of Montana during the fall of 2003 both as representatives from Richland County, where NPARL is located. 

## Kim Myhre (center), attended the CERT training as a representative from RSVP/Citizen Corp, a similar local volunteer program, which will be affiliated with the Community Emergency Response Team throughout the years.  The RSVP/Citizen Corp along with Richland County Disaster and Emergency Services were both sponsors of the training.

## One of the first projects that participants took part in was a team building exercise to learn about following directions and the importance of working together in emergency situations.  

## Judy LaPan was among the group of six people that were trainers for the event.  Each person covered a vital part of potential emergencies that can happen including terrorism, which LaPan talked about and discussed on a national and local level. 

## The NPARL Technology Transfer Room was a full house throughout the three days of training and here participants are learning about emergency preparedness and the how to use protective equipment. 

## Butch Renders, the Richland County Emergency Response Services director, talked about the types of medical emergency situations that participants may potentially be involved in and how to properly assess and treat victims in various conditions. 

## Hands on learning was a big part of the emergency medical training and shown here are participants taking turns at practicing head to toe assessments.  

## Three students from the area helped out during the weekend by volunteering themselves to be "victims" in the "real life" scenarios that were set up as a part of the hands on training. 

## CERT trainees geared up search and rescue training activities with this one concerning tornados and the techniques that would be involved in helping in a disaster situation at a local school. 

## A technique known as cribbing was part of the search and rescue training taught by Greg Arneson and involved teaching what can and should be done to help victims that are trapped under heavy objects. 

## Richland County Fire Marshall, Rob Gilbert, taught the CERT trainees about fire safety including what to watch out for and how to properly use an extinguisher.  

## Each and every participant was given the opportunity to put out an actual fire in order to get a feel for which procedures work best with extinguishers in putting out a fire as quickly as possible. 

## After 3-days and a total of 20 hours of intensive training, all fifty-three participants were certified with the knowledge required to assist local professional responders and to help out in their neighborhoods in cases of an emergency. Courtesy of NPARL and can also be seen on the web at: http://www.sidney.ars.usda.gov/sidebar/nparlpictures.html