Barrow County CERT classes to start in spring

“The residents of Barrow County have been very responsive to this program,” said Bob Richardson, CERT president. “With the great group of people that we already have the team is beginning to mature as an organization. However, we still have much to do.”
The CERT training is conducted every Thursday for nine weeks. The training is followed by a disaster drill, where students have an opportunity to put to work everything they have learned and gain confidence in their new skills.
The course goes over such classes as medical operations, fire safety, search and rescue, disaster psychology and other related subjects.
Some of the instructors that teach the CERT program include Cyndi White of The Tree House, who teaches disaster psychology. There are also members of Barrow County Sheriff’s Office that teach many areas of the CERT program, including Chief Deputy Murray Kogod.
The Barrow County Fire and Emergency Services personnel also instruct some classes, including Battalion Chief Mark Melvin. Current members of the CERT team also teach some of the classes.
“As you can see we have a wide variety of instructors that bring a lot of different specialties to the CERT class,” Richardson said. “This will help CERT members to organize an effective response to a disaster situation that may occur in Barrow County.”
Those interested in registering for the CERT class may call 770-307-2987 or send an email to barrow_cert@windstream.net.
The class size is restricted to 25 students, so early registration is suggested. Those who do not make the cutoff for the spring class will have first choice to attend the fall class.