Sixteen members of the Galveston County CERT Program participated in the Harris County CERT Rodeo Feb. 20 along with other CERT teams from across the state, receiving some valuable experience and winning accolades from the organizers of the event.
CERT stands for “Community Emergency Response Team.” Galveston County’s CERT program, now in its third year, is part of a nationwide effort to enhance citizen preparedness for all hazards, and falls under the Citizen Corps umbrella of affiliated programs.
The event was held at the Harris County Fire and Sheriff’s Training Academy in Humble.
Using skills learned through the County’s basic CERT training, the team was tested on triage, medical treatment, search and rescue, patient transport, cribbing, evidence recovery, scene size-up, and incident command. They finished in second place overall, with the top award going to a team from Dallas.
The Galveston County team needed just four minutes to “walk the plank,” a competition in which team members use ropes to help them navigate 20 feet of  2-by-4 planks in both directions.
“In the cribbing competition, the evaluators were very impressed our team’s approach and actions,” said Nancy McCain, coordinator of the Galveston County CERT Program.  “Our team was the only team to receive a perfect score on their approach criteria.”
Cribbing involves the careful raising of a collapsed structure to safely extricate a victim. In this exercise, a “victim” is located beneath an 840-pound block of cement on the side of a hill. The exercise goal was to use the tools and materials provided to rescue the victim without causing further injury and while maintaining a safe work environment.
Throughout the event, the Galveston County team operated under the incident command structure required by the National Incident Management System.
For more information about the Galveston County CERT Program and upcoming classes in your area, contact McCain at (281) 309-5009.

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