Just over a week remains before the Community Emergency Response Team training courses begin in Soldotna.
Program Coordinator Dan Nelson said they have about 15 applicants which is plenty to host the class but can take up to 25.
Nelson: “The main benefits for Community Emergency Response Team members is to be prepared individually and as a household for disasters, here in the Kenai Peninsula we’ve seen wildfires, floods, and there’s always the possibilities for earthquakes and volcanoes. So we teach people how to be prepared for that individually and at a household level. Beyond that the skills we teach would be useful if we had a real big disaster situation, the medical skills, the fire skills, could help them with their neighbors, their house, those types of things.”
The training involves four courses which begin on a Friday evening from 6 – 9 pm and then three full Saturday courses ending with a mock emergency.
The subject matter ranges from disaster preparedness, fire suppression and disaster medical operations to some search and rescue and team organization techniques.
Nelson said his office will take applicants through Wednesday, February 11.
To apply for the courses, visit the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Office of Emergency Managment’s web page.