Tom Welsh The next time a hurricane floods the streets or a blizzard downs the power grid, residents may look to their neighbors for qualified emergency assistance, thanks to Red Bank’s initiative for a community emergency response team (CERT). “It’s a program where the Office of Emergency Management [OEM] reaches out and invites members of the community of all ages, all backgrounds, to volunteer so that in the event there is an emergency, they should be part of the emergency management response team of the borough,” Mayor Pasquale Menna said. A resolution authorizing the CERT program was approved by the Borough Council at the Jan. 25 meeting, where, coincidentally, local businessman David Prown presented a $3,000 check to the mayor and OEM Coordinator Tom Welsh, the proceeds of his 2012 calendars, which sold out during the holiday season.

“We would certainly put some of that money, whatever we need, toward the CERT program to facilitate that, but also the money is going to serve to maintain some equipment that we’ve acquired and plan on acquiring to meet the needs of our mission,” Welsh said in an interview on Feb. 2.

The OEM recently refurbished radio equipment and reconditioned donated computers for efficient record keeping and standard operations. The department also received an old high-wheel vehicle from the Long Branch OEM. The older Army utility tuck can drive through heavy snow and up to 5 feet of water during emergencies, said Welsh.

The OEM coordinator said that most of the cost for a CERT program is absorbed by the state and county. The municipality, however, will conduct the actual training.

Welsh met with OEM representatives from Eatontown, Oceanport, Tinton Falls, West Long Branch, Shrewsbury and Little Silver on Jan. 31 at the Eatontown firehouse to discuss ways of generating interest in their respective CERT programs.

“It’s a first-time thing in this part of the county, so it was nice to go to a meeting where guys have been in the OEM business for many years, and they’re saying this is serious. We’ve had some incidents, and now it’s time to buck up and get together and do this, so it was kind of cool,” said Welsh.

The community departments have planned a CERT open house program tentatively scheduled for Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Shrewsbury firehouse on Route 35 for people interested in volunteering.

“The advantage of it being a multipletown endeavor, and the measure of success it will be, is how much we can do together in the future. Because ultimately, everybody helps everybody in the OEM world,” said Welsh.

He said it is likely that the surrounding municipalities would provide joint training for applicants during a five-night, threehours per-night program, though the details have not been finalized.

Training would include disaster preparedness, fire safety, basic search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology, and disaster medical operations and assessment. CERT Coordinator Ernie Van Pelt would oversee Red Bank’s program once volunteers complete their training.

“The training is minimal because they’re supervised, and their responsibility would be minimal to where they wouldn’t be put into peril or harm’s way, so to speak, like the fire service or police,” Welsh explained.

“The idea of the CERT is to try to get people who really do want to be a part of something to be able to help during a disaster or time of need.”

The CERT program doesn’t require as much of a commitment as the borough’s other volunteer services like fire or first aid, which require up to 150 hours of training.

“When people see that it’s not a huge time commitment other than in a time of need and the community has to pull together for disaster, that’s when people want to be at their best. I think when people understand that’s what that team is, I think we’re going to do good here in Red Bank. The bottom line is, I think we have a lot of good people here.”

In addition to the CERT program, the borough’s OEM department has an emergency operation plan (EOP) that includes the continual update of 17 protocols from evacuation procedures to resource management and terrorism.

Welsh said there are currently five OEM deputies, including Van Pelt, and about 15 others who are responsible for the borough’s OEM operations. Most of the members are volunteers, including a communications officer, a public information officer and information technology workers.