The Newport Beach Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has won the 2012 Individual and Community Preparedness Award for Outstanding Community Emergency Response Team Initiatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“We’re honored and grateful for the national recognition of our CERT program, particularly the dedicated team of citizen volunteers who stand by prepared to respond and support the Newport Beach community,” Newport Beach Fire Chief Scott Poster said. “Thanks to the support of our City Council, our staff has developed a strong program, with innovative practices and achievements, which makes our city safer, stronger and better prepared to manage any disaster or emergency event.”
Chief Poster refers to the city’s CERT volunteers as his “Green Army” because he knows that once the fire department’s on-duty fire resources are committed to a disaster, the CERT volunteers will respond to take care of the community.
Mayor Nancy Gardner said, “We know our CERT group is second to none and now the nation knows it. This is a wonderful honor and recognition for these dedicated volunteers.”
Newport Beach Fire Department representatives will be invited, as FEMA’s honored guests, to a community roundtable event in Washington, D.C to share their innovative and successful approaches to community preparedness with emergency management leadership.
For additional information on the City’s CERT program, please contact Matt Brisbois, CERT program coordinator, at 949-644-3381 or click here.