By Julie BUTCHER

Paul Dutton woke up the crowd at Thursday’s CV Town Council meeting by announcing an upcoming CERT training.

“CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team,” Dutton said to the crowd. “Do you know how to stop arterial bleeding? Can you save a life? Does your family have a disaster plan? How long would it take you to evacuate all the things you care about? That guy facing a wall of mud in Montecito got out in a minute, 32 seconds. Could you evacuate your house in a minute and 32 seconds?”

Dutton started the local free emergency response program with his wife Lisa in 2006. He is animated about the program and the urgent need for emergency preparedness.

“Sign up for the training. It starts on Saturday, March 3 and runs through March 10. Classes are held at the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, and it’s the wisest 25 hours you’ll ever spend,” Dutton said. “You don’t have to end up like me with 300 pounds of equipment in your truck, but to say that [a disaster] won’t happen here, it won’t happen to me [is ignorant]. It has happened here. It will happen to you.”

“Plus,” Dutton continued, “it’s a lot of fun!”

The CERT training course is designed to teach community members to “help you protect yourself, your family, your neighbors, and your neighborhood in an emergency situation.” The training includes learning to treat medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding and treating for shock; basic medical aid; search and rescue skills; collection of disaster intelligence to best assist first responders; basic fire safety; and organizing volunteers for the best response in an emergency.

Described as an “all hazard, all risk course,” CERT training emphasizes that “you will be on your own in the case of a major disaster like an earthquake. You could be on your own for seven to 10 days, without power, electricity, gas, or clean water. CERT teaches you how to develop a family disaster plan and to put together a ‘go bag’ for every member of the family.”

“Look at where we are,” Dutton implored those attending the CVTC meeting to take the CERT training. “Here in these foothills, we’ve got hurricane-force winds, power outages, hail storms, debris flows, flooding, fires, mountain lions and bears. We’ve got to be ready!”

To sign up for the March CERT training, call Deputy Alex Covian at (818) 236-4021.

  Julie BUTCHER