The City of Auburn Emergency Management Office recently announced the addition of nine new members to the area’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), bringing the total number of graduates in the local program to 314.

The new members graduated from the area’s 17th CERT course. The class consisted of three hour classes each Monday for six weeks and two, four-hour drills on Saturday mornings. The class and ended with a hands-on practical exercise simulating an earthquake in Auburn.

Graduates included community members from Auburn, Graham, Newcastle, Seattle, and Sumner.

Graduates of the class included: Janice Brown, B.F. Antes, Colleen Berry, Troy Lewis, and Natalie Watts-Davis of Auburn, Diane Flahaut of Graham, Steve Tivel of Newcastle, Jeff Rodgers of Seattle, and Candice Lampe of Sumner.

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.