Enrolling in the Redondo Beach Fire Department Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training that begins early next month in Redondo Beach could help you save a life.
The fire department is giving notice of the program now, hoping to attract volunteers to the highly successful class that has trained more than 250 volunteers since it's initiation in 1996.
Skills taught during the seminars include cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), first aid, damage assessment, light-duty search and rescue, and fire suppression. "You'll even get to use the 'Jaws of Life,'" says fire department spokesman Tony Israel.
The instruction will begin Feb. 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Redondo Beach Main Library next to city hall at Diamond Street and Pacific Coast Highway. Classes will be held every Thursday thereafter for the next seven weeks, concluding with a special eighth class and graduation ceremony on Sat., April 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those intending to take the classes must register at Fire Station Number 1 at 401 S. Broadway prior to the first meeting.
CERT graduates come from a wide range of backgrounds. Doctors, lawyers, city council members, retirees, homemakers, and others have all completed the course said Israel. A goal of the CERT program is to establish a core group of trained volunteers who could assist firemen and policemen in the event of a public disaster.
While the classes themselves are free, enrollees will have to pay a $25 fee (or $40 per couple) to cover the expenses of a CERT hard hat, a photo ID card, CPR and first aid cards, a CPR pocket mask and student notebook, Israel said. Enrollment in will be limited to 25 persons. To enroll, or for more information, contact Israel at the RBFD at 318-0663 ext. 2436.ER