Paul Dutton, Cerscenta Valley’s Head C.E.R.T. Coordinator, held his 18th class in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training for the Crescenta Valley Church in February.
Paul is a Certified FEMA/Homeland Security Instructor for C.E.R.T. with the L.A.S.D. Program. With this 18th class, Paul and his wife, Lisa, also an instructor, have taught a total of 428 people in the C.E.R.T. Training in the Crescenta Valley.
Pastor Scott Wood and many of his fellow church members said, “What an incredible class and valuable training this is for our community!”
These classes are 24 hours of training on Emergency Preparedness in how to develop your own Family Disaster Plan, spread over a few days. Similar programs are taught nationwide and helps people understand that Emergency Services might be overwhelmed in a major disaster and you and your family may be on your own for several days. C.E.R.T. teaches you to be prepared for yourself, your family, you neighbors and your community.
Paul and Lisa have developed one of the best C.E.R.T. Programs in L.A. County with 10 Teams formulating up to 8 different locations throughout the area. Paul works closely with the Glendale Unified School Teachers as well with churches, C.V. Water District and of course L.A.S.D. and L.A. County Fire. Paul and Lisa have developed a program that encompasses all these agencies along with the Red Cross. Paul is also working with the Red Cross on helping find emergency shelters throughout the Crescenta Valley.
Paul and Lisa have devoted over 5,000 volunteers hours to C.V. C.E.R.T. over 8 years and 18 trainings with 5 major drills. It is a widely respected C.E.R.T. Program within the community.
Are you prepared for an emergency?
If not and you are interested in CERT training, please call our office to speak with Paul or Lisa Dutton. In the meantime, please review our prior post that provides a disaster preparedness checklist.
