When a major disaster hits, local resources could be spread thin. To beef up manpower during an emergency, officials in Mammoth hope to train regular citizens to help out.

The Mammoth Police Department has scheduled a class designed to create the first members of what is known as the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT for short.

Mammoth Police Lt. Jim Short, explained that CERT volunteers in the San Diego Area were called into action during the recent fires, helping out at Qualcomm Stadium, for example.

Lt. Short says that after 24 hours of training CERT team members may get a pager or radio so that they can respond in an emergency.

The training focuses on both help for your family and neighbors durning an emergency and then help for the community at large. Besides assistance with emergency center operations, and traffic control, CERT members could perform light search and rescue work as well.

This first CERT team training starts MondayNovember 5th at 6:00 pm at the Mammoth Fire Station. Lt. Short asks that people sign up beforehand by calling him at 934-2011 extension 44 or email him at [email protected].

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