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CERT volunteers help keep communities safe

Tim Cooper, deputy director of the Division of Emergency Management of the Sussex County Department of Public Safety, speaks with the Belle Terre community CERT training event. TED PFIRRMANN PHOTOS
Ted Pfirrmann
June 15, 2025

The Four Seasons at Belle Terre community held its monthly Community Emergency Response Team training June 7, at Delaware State Police Troop 7 near Lewes.

CERT is a volunteer organization of personnel who have received specific training in topics such as fire safety, light search-and-rescue, team organization, disaster medical operation  and basic disaster response skills. Team members agree to supplement existing emergency responders in the event of a major disaster. The goal is to have one CERT team per community.

CERT began in 1985 through the Los Angeles Fire Department. In 1993, it became a national program, and it currently sits under the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There are currently 3,200 CERT teams across the U.S. CERT continues to rapidly grow, with workplace CERT teams, college campus CERTs and even teen CERT teams.

For more information go to https://tinyurl.com/vs9re7ud.

 

Community members interested in becoming CERT members attend classes on a variety of topics.
Danielle Swallow, coastal hazards specialist with Delaware Sea Grant, talks about rising sea levels due to global warming, and the hazards it presents.
Pat Heineman, emergency planning specialist with the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies, speaks about dangers to the area’s aging population.
Matt Wade came to the meeting looking to get involved in CERT and possibly get one started in his community.
Shown are (l-r) Pat Heineman, emergency planning specialist with the University of Delaware Center for Disabilities Studies; Danielle Swallow, coastal hazards specialist with Delaware Sea Grant; Tim Cooper, deputy director of the Division of Emergency Management of the Sussex County Department of Public Safety; and Debra Sanders, Four Seasons at Belle Terre CERT team leader and training officer.

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