Elmsford Teens Qualify to Become First CERT Team in Region

In a joint board meeting held Oct. 5, the Elmsford Union Free School District and the Village of Elmsford honored 15 high school students who earlier in the summer had successfully completed training to become Westchester County’s first Teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

The students, with the support of Mayor Robert Williams and the Village Trustees and under the direction of CERT Coordinators Barbara Eannazzo and Olivia Simpson, spent several weeks learning life-saving and disaster-response skills.

The students who participated in this comprehensive training volunteered for the initiative.

“We are all proud of them, these students are truly leaders and we know that in the face of emergency, they are well prepared to assist within their community,” said Superintendent Dr. Joseph Ricca, while watching them receive certificates for successfully completing the program.

The CERT concept was first developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985 as a way to prepare citizens to meet their immediate needs in the case of an earthquake or other disaster.

Later the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recognized the value of such a program and has since provided training to communities in 28 states and in Puerto Rico.