The City of Auburn Emergency Management Office has announced the addition of 29 new members to the area’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), bringing the total number of graduates in the local program to 343.

The 29 new members graduated from the area’s 18th CERT course, which included three days of intensive training. The training culminated in a hands-on practical exercise simulating an earthquake.

Graduates included community members from Auburn, Bonney Lake, Des Moines, Kent, Olympia, Pacific, Seattle, and Tacoma.

Graduates of the class included: Jennifer Welch, Lisa Ostrander, Berdeen Meadows, JoAnn Hendrickson, John Dawson, Joseph Cushing, Christopher Cushing, David Craven, Jaime Austen, and Heidi Hill from Auburn; Linda Prellwitz, and Nichole Johnson from Bonney Lake; Kathleen Weiss from Des Moines; Ron Celestres, Priscilla Wood, Dick Wood, and Cheryl Ross from Kent; Jamie Rawlings, Jonathan Barczyk, and Carly Probasio from Olympia; Mark Delight from Pacific; Samantha Ponce, Ilyssa Plumer, Erin Milliren, Mira Hattal, Joseph Bommarito, and Julian Cruzat-Anderson from Seattle; and Claire Taylor, and Darcey Taggart from Tacoma.

About CERT training

CERT training is comprised of 24-plus hours of classroom education and hands-on practice in topics including disaster preparedness, emergency management, fire safety/suppression, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, disaster communication, disaster psychology, and all-hazards identification and awareness.

Graduates have the opportunity to become registered emergency workers with their respective cities and the State of Washington, allowing them to aid in local and regional disasters.

Graduates also have the opportunity to participate in local and regional continuing education activities, including training and field exercises.

Courses are sponsored by the White River Valley Citizen Corps Council and taught by fire and emergency management professionals from the cities of Auburn, Pacific, and the Valley Regional Fire Authority.