School Staffers Train For Emergencies

McDonald County School District staff members are now prepared for a disaster.

Several teams from the school district participated in Community Emergency Response Team training, which teaches volunteers how to quickly and effectively handle disaster and emergency situations.

With the training, CERT volunteers can now assist others and take on a critical role for their community, said McDonald County Emergency Management Agency Director Gregg Sweeten.

The school system has two teams from each school in the district, he added.

Volunteers undergo approximately 20 hours of training in disaster preparedness, basic disaster first aid, disaster fire suppression, disaster psychology, terrorism, light search and rescue, and CERT team organization, Sweeten said.

CERT volunteers usually experience a mock exercise in which they can apply their new training. In the past, volunteers put their new skills to the test during an exercise at the old lumberyard. Sweeten hopes to utilize an abandoned house for training before the fire department begins its burning exercise.

Sweeten is one of several instructors who lead CERT training. With the recent school district training, he estimates 125 people so far have successfully completed the program.

Volunteers aid their immediate community, but are sometimes called upon to help their neighbors within the state.

Last year, on New Year's Day, a group of CERT volunteers were deployed to assist with search and rescue efforts in Polk County. Teams were trying to locate a man who had been washed off a bridge during flooding. The effort had been ongoing for several days when the group was called in to help. McDonald County CERT volunteers are part of a district, MO CERT1, that includes Lawrence, Taney, Christian, Greene and Polk counties. The CERT members from McDonald County helped locate the man's body, Sweeten said.

CERT volunteers are equipped to assist in a full range of ways during an emergency situation, including traffic control, handing out water, even entering lightly damaged buildings, Sweeten said.

The CERT philosophy is to take care of yourself, take care of your family, take care of your neighborhood and then take care of your community, Sweeten said.

CERT training is ongoing. Classes are usually held from 6 to 10 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at the McDonald County Courthouse, but can be arranged differently, if needed. The facility is great for the training, with a room and audio-visual equipment dedicated for such, but Sweeten said the instruction can take place elsewhere for a group if it's more convenient.

To register, contact Sweeten at 417-223-7575, email him at [email protected], or send a message via the McDonald County Emergency Management Facebook page.