Volunteering as an emergency responder used to be a ho-hum affair in Morristown.
That was before a couple of hurricanes and nor-easters pounded our backyards.
Members of Morristown’s Community Emergency Response Team were busy in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, going door-to-door delivering vital information to residents without heat or electricity.
The town needs to beef up CERT before the next natural disaster. An open house is scheduled for Jan. 10 at town hall.
You can ask Frank Somma, coordinator of the town Office of Emergency Management, how to volunteer. The police department describes the program this way:
A key component of the Town’s emergency preparedness and response initiative is based on citizen volunteers involved in our CERT program. The CERT program provides opportunity for citizen volunteers to become active and involved in homeland security and emergency management activities designed to make individuals, their families and their communities safer, stronger and better prepared to deal with a terrorist attack or a natural disaster.
The session runs from 7 pm to 10 pm in the seniors center on the third floor of town hall. Frank’s contributions were recognized this week by Mayor Tim Dougherty. Here is a video clip:
