CERT 5 is a Community Emergency Response Team sponsored by Clallam County Fire District 3, in the Sequim Operational Area, of Clallam County, Washington. CERT 5’s primary operational area is the Highland Hills Community on Bell Hill bordering the city of Sequim on the south side.
CERT members provide immediate assistance to victims in their area and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources when they arrive. CERT promotes a partnership between emergency management and response agencies and the people in the community they serve.
If there is a natural or man-made event that overwhelms or delays the community’s professional responders, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during their CERT training. These skills can help save and sustain lives until professional help arrives. CERT members also volunteer for special community projects that improve the community’s preparedness and safety.
Members are all volunteers. They are graduates of the 24-hour CCFD #3’s CERT basic training course. When an incident occurs, the CERT 5 team will gather and set up a team command post on the driveway in front of 142 Owls Nest Road
Search and Rescue, Support, and Medical Squads will be deployed around Highland Hills and other areas based on event circumstances and situation reports. Trained CERT members deploy in squads to provide the community with first contact by emergency services. Team members assist the injured, provide basic first aid, clear trapped survivors, and communicate an assessment of the neighborhood through their Division Chief, to the Sequim Operational Area. They provide search and rescue of light to moderately damaged homes. They do not enter heavily damaged homes but report the need for help to the Sequim Operational Area CERT Division Chiefs.
As the disaster progresses, CERT members may be re-tasked by the CERT Division Chiefs to perform other missions besides search and rescue.
CERT 5 members meet monthly for ongoing training and organizational development. They participate in annual CCFD 3 CERT drills with all the CERT teams in the Sequim Operational Area. The captain and squad leaders attend quarterly CCFD Area Command 5 Operations Review Meetings.
