AURORA | If a fire breaks out in your neighborhood, do you know the right way to extinguish it?
What if a tornado leaves your neighborhood without power for an extended stretch, what then?
Aurora’s office of emergency management is offering a Community Emergency Response Team course starting this month aimed at teaching average citizens the skills they need in emergencies like those.
“One of the big things we work on here is preparedness, as opposed to just being reactionary,” said Stephanie Hackett, emergency management specialist for the city of Aurora.
The free course, which lasts 30 hours over six separate sessions, is scheduled to start June 18 at the Aurora Municipal Center. The class is a semi-regular offering from the city.
Hackett said the course covers a variety of scenarios. Some sessions touch on basic first aid treatment and triage, others on light search and rescue and another on fire safety and suppression. During the fire courses, participants get to put out fires.
Hackett said there is also a disaster psychology portion that discusses the effects of large-scale disasters on victims, survivors and emergency responders.
The courses also cover what kinds of emergency supplies families and organizations should have handy.
“It’s to teach citizens how to prep for themselves and for their families, their communities,” she said. “And to really know what to do if a disaster or emergency happens,” she said.
While the courses touch on various disasters, Hackett said much of the focus is on how to find shelter in a blizzard and how to respond in a tornado because those are the disasters most likely to hit Aurora.
Matt Chapman, emergency management coordinator for the city of Aurora, said the skills taught at the class are vital during an emergency.
“These are the kind of skills that teach people how to sustain themselves for a little longer and maybe help their neighbors,” he said.
For first responders, who will likely be swamped with calls during a large-scale disaster, having some residents who can fend for themselves, at least for a while, relieves some of the pressure, Chapman said.
“That helps us a ton knowing that we are obviously going to be extremely busy in a large event,”
Hackett said the courses tend to attract people from not only Aurora, but outside the city as well. In the past, companies have sent several people, as have homeowners’ associations and neighborhood watch groups.
“It really attracts a wide variety of students to the course,” she said.
To register for the class, or for more information, contact Hackett at 303-326-8964 or shackett@auroragov.org.
Reach reporter Brandon Johansson at 720-449-9040 or bjohansson@aurorasentinel.com
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