Willow’s emergency response team is looking for a few good neighbors
The area's next community emergency response training is scheduled for this month.
What you need to know:
- Willow’s emergency response team will host a hybrid training program in November, combining 12 hours of self-paced online coursework with hands-on training Nov. 21-22 at the Willow Community Center.
- Volunteers will learn emergency response skills, including disaster preparedness, first aid, fire suppression, search and rescue, and team coordination. Participants must complete a final disaster simulation to earn their CERT credentials and become eligible to join the team.
- The training aims to strengthen community preparedness and expand Willow’s 35-member CERT team. More than 20 volunteers graduated from the program in 2024. Participants must complete the online coursework by Nov. 20.
WILLOW – The Willow Community Emergency Response Team will host a training weekend in November to prepare a new group of volunteers to respond to local emergencies.
“I think in Alaska, more than anyplace else, people just have to be prepared,” said Brenda McCain, the team’s volunteer program manager.
Willow is home to Alaska’s longest-running Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, which was established in 2015.
This year, the team will again offer a hybrid training program that allows volunteers to complete part of the coursework online before attending a weekend of hands-on training. The 12-hour online curriculum covers disaster preparedness, basic response skills, team organization and disaster medical operations.
The online coursework covers the same material normally taught in the classroom but allows volunteers to learn at their own pace, McCain said.
McCain said the hybrid course was a success when the team last offered it in 2024, helping volunteers arrive at the hands-on training confident and ready to apply what they learned at home.
“People came in so completely prepared, instead of coming in, sitting down in front of this big, thick manual with no knowledge at all,” she said. “They came in feeling very confident and competent and eager and full of questions instead of walking in with this deer-in-the-headlight look.”
Volunteers have until Nov. 20 to complete the online coursework. Hands-on training is scheduled for Nov. 21 and 22, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, at the Willow Community Center.
During the sessions, volunteers will rotate through stations covering disaster victim triage and various first aid procedures. They will also learn fire safety and suppression techniques, light search and rescue operations, and how to communicate through a chain of command in the field, McCain said.
Volunteers will earn their CERT credentials after completing a final disaster simulation that tests the skills they learned throughout the training.
Completing the course makes volunteers eligible to join the CERT team. Active members are required to continue training and expanding their skills throughout the year.
“We’re not first responders,” McCain said. “We become neighbors helping neighbors.”
More than 20 people graduated from Willow CERT’s previous training in 2024.
Willow’s active emergency response team has 35 members. The training helps grow the team and gives members new ways to engage with their community, McCain said.
CERT volunteers regularly assist with community activities, including directing traffic at events, hosting educational tables at farmers markets and fairs, and teaching residents about emergency preparedness.
“One of our biggest goals on our team is to make the community more prepared as individuals, it’s not just our team,” McCain said.
Anyone interested in taking the course can contact McCain at 907-355-1418 or brendalmccain@gmail.com for registration information and instructions on accessing the online coursework.