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The Contra Costa Community College District Police Department provided two important training workshops for staff in January.
The first was the eighth Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, hosted by Diablo Valley College. The course follows Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) nationwide standards to provide citizens with training that helps them prepare for and effectively assist during emergencies and disasters. The training includes:
- emergency preparedness
- fire safety and suppression
- light search and rescue
- disaster medical operations (triage and treatment of life-threatening emergencies)
- disaster medical operations (assessment, treatment, and hygiene)
- team organization
- disaster psychology
- terrorism
Twenty-seven college district employees completed the training, with managers, faculty,
staff and student employees representing all six of the district’s campuses and facilities.
The District’s Community Emergency Response Team was first established in 2006, and
thus far has provided this training to more than 150 people.
The CCCCD Police Department also provided fire safety training to 26 members of the Diablo Valley College Custodial Department. Custodial Supervisor Tony Melendez requested the training for his staff so they could help keep themselves and the campus safe.
Class participants learned how to spot fire safety hazards and properly report fires,
and had the opportunity to practice their new-found fire-fighting skills hands-on
with a new fire extinguisher training system. While older methods required the use
of a smoke-generating diesel and gasoline fire pan, this environmentally-friendly
and cost-effective system uses clean-burning propane to produce flames for the students
to extinguish. New training extinguishers use a combination of compressed air and
water to extinguish training fires, all without leaving the usual powdery extinguisher
mess behind.