ERT Training 2012

 

To register for the training, please send the following information to Rebecca Makowski at Galilee United Methodist Church (rebecca.makowski@galileeumc.org) :

 

 

 

 

 

For more information please contact our ERT coordinator, Steve Barham or contact Phil Mohr in the church office. Our ERT is a disaster response team at SUMC. ERTs are trained and certified by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM).

 

ERT stands for Emergency Response Team. ERTs are teams of individuals who are trained to respond immediately after disasters. ERTs come in after the first responders (search, rescue and recovery) complete their work, and help stabilize the area after a disaster. Work can include clearing debris, making initial needs assessments, working in feeding stations, putting tarps on damaged homes, mucking out flooded homes, and the like. Typical ERT deployments are for 3-5 days.

 

Emergency Response Teams are trained and credentialed by UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief). The credentials are recognized by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), law enforcement agencies, UMCOR and UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission). 

 

After a disaster, the bishop or emergency response coordinator for a conference can request ERTs to come. ERTs are then asked to consider their availability to respond. If they are available, the ERT is put in contact with local church officials regarding housing and coordination of work assignments, etc.

 

The ERT program has been developed by UMCOR and UMVIM in response to several of the larger natural disasters in recent years, starting with Hurricane Andrew. ERTs have become an effective part of the church’s disaster response effort to floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and other disasters. Planning is also underway to include terror response training into the ERT program. ERTs work closely with other volunteer organizations (VOADS—Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters) as well as government organizations to coordinate an effective response. (i.e., if the Baptists are providing feeding stations, and the Brethren are offering clothing and supplies, the Methodists might take on a different piece of the response effort).

 

Sterling UMC will be offering an ERT training on November 5 for all interested persons.    The goal would be to establish an ERT in our church that would be prepared to respond to local or more distant disasters. Contact Phil Mohr at ministries@sterlingumc.org if you are interested in learning more.