Training Offered for Emergency Response
The Simi Valley Police Department is looking for people to take part in a Community Emergency Response Team disaster preparedness training program.
Started in the wake of the Northridge earthquake, the course trains volunteers in fire suppression, light search and rescue, disaster medical operations and other emergency skills.
The course, which includes six three-hour sessions, is the program’s 10th. The goal is self-reliance, said police emergency services coordinator Randy White.
“In everyday life we pay our taxes to have police, the fire department and paramedics come when we dial 9-1-1,” White said. “In a disaster, when you pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1, there’s no answer.”
City Councilwoman Sandi Webb, who had pushed for the program even before the Northridge quake, likened it to a dose of “preventive medicine.
The course is free and open to anyone 18 years or older who lives or works in Simi Valley.
The registration deadline is Aug. 20, and classes begin Sept. 9. Call 583-6982 for more information.
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