Indianola now has a Community Emergency Response Team.
Mayor Ken Featherstone introduced the notion of forming a CERT team this past summer, and he and volunteers have been through multiple training sessions to prepare to support first responders in the event of a disaster.
Larry Cagle, with the Mississippi Department of Homeland Security, joined Featherstone during a presentation during last week’s meeting of the board of aldermen, briefing city leaders on the status of the group.
Cagle said that the CERT team comes when they are called by local officials.
The first CERT team member to arrive at an incident becomes the CERT team leader.
Featherstone stressed that this is in support of first responders and professionals.
“This doesn’t mean that CERT supersedes our first responders or professionals at all. They actually complement them,” he said.
The team leader answers to the local fire chief, police chief and county Emergency Management Agency.
“Once the professionals show up, they become a part of your incident command,” Cagle said.
Featherstone said the group has been learning about disaster preparedness, response, life-threatening conditions and events where there are mass casualties.
The CERT team, which is currently headed by A.D. Bailey, has also been trained on “disaster psychology,” which deals with the well-being of volunteers and victims.
“This is absolutely important,” Featherstone said.
Featherstone said the CERT team will be active on the preparedness front, distributing materials and assisting with things like smoke alarm installations.
“Every household needs smoke detectors,” he said.
Currently, there are 14 CERT team members in Indianola, Featherstone said.
