You just know it’s going to happen sometime — a tornado, a hazmat crash, an ice storm or whatever it takes to turn North Texas topsy-turvy.
While most will “hunker” down waiting for instructions on how to return to the norm, there are others like first responders who will ramp up to make things better.
To help locals come onboard, the City of Dallas Community Emergency Response Team (ERT) is holding a free course to teach folks “who like to be involved in their communities, interested in emergency/disaster preparedness and interested in helping out in their neighborhood/community during disasters.”
The three-week course will educate participants on “preparedness for yourself and your family, basic first aid, light search and rescue, fire safety and more.”
Taking place at Dallas Fire-Rescue Training Academy (5000 Dolphin Road), the classes are scheduled for the following dates and times:
- Saturday, August 12 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. – Unit 1 Disaster Preparedness
- 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Unit 6 Fire Safety
- 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Unit 3 Disaster Medical Operations Part 1
- 1:00 to 5 p.m. – Unit 4 Disaster Medical Operations Part 2
- Saturday, August 19 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Unit 7 Search and Rescue
- 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. – Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Unit 2 CERT Organization
- 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Unit 5 Psychology
- 3:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. – Unit 8 Terrorism
- 4:45 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Day 3 Morning Walk-through
- Saturday, August 26 from 8 a.m. to noon
- 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Unit 9 Course Review and Final Exercise
While the course is free, it does require pre-registration and that all “attend all three classes to receive a course completion certificate.” Registration is available online here.