Community Emergency Response Teams

Posted on September 13, 2013

The Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum are looking to set up a Community Emergency Response Team

Is your community prepared for emergencies?

To help local communities in severe weather or during a major incident, like a power cut or evacuation, the Bedfordshire and Luton Local Resilience Forum (BLLRF) are looking for volunteers to set up local Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and help minimise the consequences of potential disasters.  

BLLRF brings together Police, Fire, Ambulance, local councils, health and government agencies, local businesses and resilience consultants to prepare and plan for disasters before they happen.  CERTs will be the key contact for emergency planning and community preparations for major incidents, helping create a Community Emergency Plan for their area and assisting locally when an emergency occurs.

"This is not about creating or identifying a new community network, or a one-off response to an incident," says Mark Conway, Emergency Planning Officer for Central Bedfordshire Council, "but developing existing community networks and personal relationships. Think about what already exists around you, who you already talk to, and how you could work together before, during and after an incident. Existing local community networks and groups would be an excellent place to start building a group to be prepared for a local emergency." … "This could be anything from helping clear snow and ice from vulnerable people's drives during a severe winter to checking people are alright if the power is cut off for a long period or manning evacuation centres if there's a major fire. Local people can assist the emergency services by providing support and local knowledge during emergencies and helping their communities get back on their feet after a crisis."

Free emergency training is available every month in the evenings for anyone with an interest in emergency response.

If you are interested or able to help in any way, please contact us now by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 0300 300 4145.

To find out more visit www.bllrf.org.uk