A HUGE congratulations to our program coordinator, Arc Thames, on receiving the CERT Association of Florida Distinguished Service Award.

This award is presented to a long-standing Florida CERT Volunteer who has demonstrated extensive leadership through sustained and significant contributions to the CERT organization.

Arc holds down a fulltime job, traveling for his work, and still has an unbelievable commitment to our CERT and ARES programs. It takes a large amount of time to manage an all-volunteer organization. Recruiting new members, coordinating the education, planning the events, and responding to the emergencies.

Arc works with community leaders, emergency management, public safety officials, fire chiefs, and other personnel to see where Santa Rosa County CERT and ARES can make a difference in our community.

Not only does he arrange the events, he works shoulder to shoulder with the team and making sure that everyone on the team is supported. Whether it’s directing traffic for a parade or providing fire rehab services at 1AM, Arc is there.

Thank you, Arc, for all you do for Santa Rosa County!

This past weekend, our dedicated students embarked on an intense and rewarding training program designed to equip them with essential survival skills. Throughout the course, participants learned a variety of crucial techniques, including basic tracking, survival skills, map reading, and wilderness first aid. These skills are not just theoretical but vital for real-life scenarios, particularly in the unpredictable environment of the wilderness.

On Sunday, the training reached its peak with a realistic lost persons exercise involving three missing individuals. This exercise provided an invaluable opportunity for participants to apply their newly acquired skills in a controlled but realistic setting. Working alongside the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office FL bloodhound team, our students engaged in the search and rescue operations to locate the missing individuals. This collaboration offered a unique, hands-on experience with professional search and rescue teams, highlighting the importance of teamwork and communication in emergency situations.

After locating the victims, the participants then transitioned to working with the Skyline Fire Rescue and Munson Volunteer Fire and Rescue District team. They assessed the patients’ injuries and prepared them for transport. The exercise included setting up a landing zone for a patient transport, which was unfortunately canceled due to weather conditions. This scenario underscored the unpredictability and adaptability required in emergency responses.

A significant part of the training involved learning how to package patients for transport. Firefighters from Skyline demonstrated and trained CERT team members on using various equipment, such as backboards, stokes baskets, and SKEDs. Participants learned how to load patients onto a UTV for transportation out of the woods and practiced low-angle rope rescues. The training also included low light search techniques, enhancing the participants’ ability to operate in challenging conditions.

This weekend was not only about learning but also about experiencing the complexities of search and rescue operations. It showcased the collaborative efforts required from various emergency services, including the critical support from the Santa Rosa County Emergency Management 911 communications team, which helped make the exercise feel authentic.

Overall, this training provided a comprehensive look at what it takes to locate lost persons in the wilderness, assess and treat their injuries, and ensure their safe transport. It was an excellent opportunity to demonstrate to the community the intricate and demanding nature of search and rescue missions. The dedication and performance of everyone involved were truly commendable. Through such initiatives, we continue to build a community that is better prepared for emergencies and more resilient in the face of adversity.

WEAR ABC TV 3 came out to our north Santa Rosa CERT class to hear more about what our training covers so they could share it with the public. Our team was the lead story on both the 6 and 10 o’clock news on Saturday January 13, 2024!

Our CERT class took part over two consecutive weekends from Friday to Sunday.  Volunteers were provided with basic supplies and of course, we fed them too.  This was one of the largest CERT classes that I know of as we hosted 40 participants.  Students learned skills ranging from basic first aid to light search and rescue.

One of the biggest emphases of the class was to provide hands-on training.  It’s one thing to sit and listen to a lecture but another to actually have the practical experience to go along with it.  Students got experience in life saving techniques such as stopping the bleed and patient assessments.  Students also had the opportunity to fight a simulated fire with one of the local fire department chiefs.

CERT Instructor Steve Samaha demonstrates patient evaluation

The class ends with a large scale simulated mass casualty event in which the students’ skills and ability to remain calm are put to the test.  We utilized students from the Pace FL High School drama department to act as victims and boy, they did an amazing job.  The feeling and emotion they put into the exercise made it feel as real as it possibly could have.  Instructors applied makeup and other simulated injuries to the victims to allow the participants to triage their patients.  Firefighters from the City of Milton Fire Department participated as evaluators and said that even their team would’ve had a hard time dealing with the amount of victims that our students did.

We’re incredibly proud of this class and the way they came together as a team.  Many of these CERT students were ARES volunteers already and the ones that aren’t will be attending our amateur radio technician course that kicks off May 6 in which we have 30 people signed up.  To help remove any barriers from someone getting licensed and on the air, we’re providing the class books, the class itself, the license test, and a basic handheld radio to those that pass for free.  The entire class is free to help get as many people on the air as we can.