CERT training concludes with rescue simulation, graduation ceremony

A group of 21 volunteers from the SUNY New Paltz community, including 14 students, gathered Thursday, April 2 to complete the final phase of a seven-week Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program. Their final exercise was a simulation of a disaster scenario that included a fire extinguisher drill and a search and rescue mission in a residential building.

College President Donald P. Christian joined emergency services personnel in congratulating the newly-inaugurated New Paltz CERT at a graduation and certificate presentation ceremony.

“Your team leaders have developed a training program that I’m really proud of, and I’m proud of all of you who have taken part in this,” Christian said. “We take seriously our responsibilities to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors to the campus. The service that you’ve been trained to provide can really help with that effort. I want to thank all of you for volunteering your time and your energy to serve as a member of this team.”

The CERT program is a national initiative that recognizes the need to prepare civilians to respond in disaster situations when professional emergency service providers are not immediately available. This inaugural CERT training at New Paltz was developed and administered by University Police Chief David Dugatkin and Scott Schulte, assistant director of fire safety for Environmental Health & Safety and second assistant chief of the New Paltz Fire Department.

“I’m very comfortable with the progress this group has made,” Dugatkin said. “They have exceeded all requirements for CERT training and are eager to get out there and support the campus. These are the dedicated members of the campus community who have stepped up, who want to go above and beyond to help us, and we’re very appreciative of that.”

Since February 12, CERT volunteers have devoted three hours per week to courses training them in skills including basic fire suppression, emergency medical services and response team organization.

“I volunteered for CERT training because I wanted to be more than just a bystander,” said Brandon Walsh ’17 (Computer Science). “I wanted to be someone who could help, and who knows what to do when any kind of disaster strikes.”

While this has been the first CERT training program ever offered at SUNY New Paltz, team leaders are optimistic that this team can expand to become a consistent contributor to the College’s support service infrastructure.

“We’d like to do at least one training program every year to grow our ranks,” said Schulte. “This inaugural group of 21 volunteers establishes a team that we hope will continue to expand.”

More information about the SUNY New Paltz Community Emergency Response Team is available online. More information about the federal CERT initiative is available at the Federal Emergency Management Agency website.