Kiawah Island Town Council Member Russell Berner began his segment of the December 3 meeting with a solicitation request. He asked members of the public to consider joining the Town’s newly established Community Emergency Response Team, otherwise known as CERT.
Berner said that when he was elected about two years ago, CERT had pretty much fallen to the wayside. Currently, however, it’s up to 20 volunteers, but Berner wants more.
As the chair of the Town’s Public Safety Committee, Berner wants to be sure that they create a team of residents with some prior experience in emergency response, whether that be residents trained in CPR, nursing, medicine or security.
“When police or fire are overburdened because of a big event, like – God forbid – a plane crash, or maybe because of a big storm, the response is needed elsewhere,” he said. “CERT would be activated here on the island.”
Berner said that CERT members have to go through training. The class, taught by the Charleston County Emergency Management Division, would give the volunteers Charleston County certification in addressing certain life-saving techniques. They will learn how to respond in emergency situations involving apnea, excessive bleeding and shock. Topics such as fire suppression, search and rescue, injury triage and earthquake response will also be covered. The course is meant to give some basic training in disaster survival, and rescue skills would improve the ability of residents to survive until responders or other assistance could arrive.
The Charleston County website reads, “CERT teams can be comprised of neighbors, fellow employees within an industry, schools, church groups, civic organizations, etc. To qualify as a neighborhood team, at least three members from a designated area or organization need to participate in and complete the training program.”
Berner said that the CERT members will also work major events, like the Kiawah Island Marathon, which took place the weekend of December 14. CERT members were out on the course in nine different zones, looking for runners in distress.
“They went through some training from the Charleston County Sheriff Department on that,” Berner added.
CERT will also activate in emergency preparations before, during, and after a hurricane. “They will help prepare the beach and they will be out directing traffic during evacuations,” Berner said.
Kiawah Island uses CodeRED to communicate to residents in emergency situations or for critical community alerts. CodeRED is typically reserved for short evacuation-related messages sent with only pertinent information.
Kiawah Island is serviced by the Kiawah Island Community Association’s Security, as well as the Charleston County Sheriff’s Department, St. John’s Fire Department, the Charleston County Consolidated 911 Dispatch, Charleston County EMS, and the Town of Kiawah Island’s Public Safety, which includes the Town’s Code Enforcement officers.