Mission Statement

The Town of Southington Community Emergency Response Team is comprised of volunteer citizen teams, who are trained in basic life safety and emergency preparedness skills. Southington’s CERT is community based, whose purpose is to assist the Town of Southington and its residents in the event of a major incident or large scale disaster, whether man-made or natural.

The Southington CERT will:

  • Provide assistance, as needed, for emergency disaster response to the Town of Southington and its citizens.
  • Provide support for first responders.
  • Provide leadership and coordination for emergency management resources and volunteer pools to help during an emergency.
  • Assist surrounding communities if called upon.
  • Educate and promote disaster/emergency awareness.
  • Provide rapid and safe care for one self, our families, friends, and neighbors in the event of a disaster until trained emergency responders arrive.
  • Perform projects that improve a community’s preparedness.

What we are and what we do:
The initial Southington CERT was sworn in on January 21, 2009 and with 2 subsequent classes has grown to 97 members as of December 1, 2010.

Members have been trained and/or certified in Basic First Aid, CPR, Ham Radio, Police Traffic Control Techniques, Evidence Preservation, Disaster Shelter Operation, Assisting people with Disabilities, Rehabilitation of firefighters and Ground/Mountain Bike Search & Rescue. During 2010, we have had 22 deployments with 291 volunteers taking an active part.


SOUTHINGTON CERT HIGHLIGHTS

  • November/December 2009, January/October/November 2010 - Conducted over 25 H1N1/Flu Clinics.
  • January 2010 – Joined other Connecticut CERT organizations in support of the Middletown Kleen Energy incident.
  • May 2010 – Deployed with the Manchester CERT at Case Mountain for training in Mountain Bike and ground Search & Rescue operational training.
  • June 2010, Partnered with the Bristol CERT in providing Ham Radio Communications for that town’s HazMat Emergency Exercise.
  • September 2010 – 56 Southington, Bristol and New Britain CERT members assisted Southington first responders in a first ever Commodities Point of Distribution Exercise under FEMA guidelines.
  • January and November 2010 – Southington CERT called upon to open and maintain a Shelter at the Calendar House for victims of an ice storm and gas leak.
  • May, July and September – Members assisted with traffic control and/or parking lot security at the Memorial Day Parade, Southington Relay for Life, Italian Festival and Apple Harvest Festival Parade.


NEW TEAMS
During 2010 the Southington CERT established 3 specialty support teams:

  • Radio Communications Team –The utilization of Amateur Radio Communications and FRS radio systems during drills, call-ups, disasters and for the use of radio communications between CERT Teams.
  • Mountain Bike Search & Rescue Team – This team was established to support requirements for Search & Rescue Operations. Along with their specific training other CERT members were also trained in ground Search & Rescue Operation.
  • Medical Resource Team – With 10 Registered Nurses and a number of Med Techs in the organization it was only a natural that this team came into being. They have been responsible for the distribution of Flu vaccines at all of our many clinics the past 2 years.

THINGS TO COME:
The Southington CERT has had additional training this year in Handling Persons With Disabilities, Shelter Management, and Shelter Management for Animals as provided by the Connecticut State Animal Response Team (CTSART). As new members join, they bring with them additional interests, which we then evaluate and if found within our capabilities, research and train on.


CONCLUSION:
As you can see, the citizens of Southington have really come together to establish a very active Citizens Corp to help our town. With their dedication and the support of our local government and first responders, we look to have a very exciting and rewarding future.