Township Lauds Team for Hurricane Help

COURT HOUSE – It “CERT-ainly” was a night for accolades for Middle Township’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Almost 20 members of the CERT were honored with certificates of appreciation during Township Committee’s Dec. 17 meeting for their volunteer work during Hurricane Sandy.
“I was very impressed with the way they handled the storm this year in helping us with our shelter,” said Mayor Daniel Lockwood. The mayor added because of the CERT, the township was able to have viable shelters for evacuees up and running within 24 hours after the decision was made to have a shelter located at Elementary School No. 2.
Ninety-six people were sheltered in the school without incident, said Lockwood.
“It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal,” said Lockwood, “but when you’re staffing a shelter 24 hours a day, seven days a week, having shift changes and dealing with residents who are coming in under constrained conditions; it takes a lot of patience and a lot of commitment.”
The CERT was begun by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the Citizen Corp several years ago. The program trains volunteer community members to assist others in need while waiting for emergency personnel such as EMS, fire or police to respond. The township’s CERT was established five years ago.
Training for CERT members involves a training course of 20 hours over an eight-week period. Members are taught subjects such as First Aid, Disaster Preparedness, Disaster Psychology, Disaster Fire Preparedness and Terrorism. The final exercise involves a disaster simulation realistic to the community.
Middle’s CERT, however, did not need a simulated disaster – theirs was the real deal when Sandy barreled onto land in Cape May County.
Middle Township Emergency Management Coordinator and CERT member Paul Fritsch told team members there was a need for training in sheltering evacuees in the event of a winter storm. A sheltering workshop, scheduled for Nov. 5, was a moot point after the team expertly coordinated a shelter.
“Ironically, their first sheltering training session was scheduled during Hurricane Sandy,” said Lockwood. “They went from practice to perfection.”
According to CERT manager Herb Siefken, “There were many families with children as well as senior citizens at Middle’s shelter, which was first opened for Middle residents being evacuated from all low-lying areas. The CERT members’ time was spent setting up cots, checking on people and providing comfort and security to the shelter residents.”
Siefken, who weathered Sandy along with the team, also thanked the volunteer CERT members. “You did a great job,” he said.