Cobb County is rolling out the welcome mat for altruistic locals looking to beef up their emergency response game. The county’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is laying down the gauntlet for residents ready to rise to the occasion when disaster strikes. On offer is a rigorous training program designed to teach citizens how to best lend a hand during calamities, giving a leg up to the pros when every second counts.
Interested individuals are being beckoned to join the ranks, with the promise that after swinging through the program, they’ll be primed to provide vital support to first responders, play the Good Samaritan to victims in need, and marshal the troops of spontaneous volunteers converging on disaster scenes. Cobb County's website warns that seats are hot commodities – they’re limited, after all.
Wannabe CERT-trained Samaritans need to mark their calendar for sessions spanning three separate Saturdays – March 2, 9, 16; April 6, 13, 20; and May 4, 11, 18. They'll hunker down from 8:00 a.m. to the closing bell at 5:00 p.m. Enrollment is a trifecta affair, meaning prospective students gotta hit up all three sessions to earn their stripes. The training drills are going down at the Cobb County Emergency Operations Center, situated at 140 North Marietta Parkway in Marietta, GA 30060.
