EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DRILLS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC

  Parker County’s Emergency Management staff and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) conducted a successful drill earlier this month at Lake Mineral Wells State Park, covering the full gamut of emergency preparedness training.

  Training exercises included a search and rescue scenario, hazardous material awareness, first aid triage techniques and the always important command and control aspects of emergency response.

   “I crafted the scenarios of the drill with our CERT Coordinator Kit Marshall, in order to test the skills of team members within the boundaries of the CERT program as they set up command and control according to the Incident Command System/National Incident Management System,” Parker County Emergency Management Coordinator and Fire Marshal Shawn Scott said. “The drill was an overwhelming success, according to all parties involved.”

   Individuals from area CERT teams representing Benbrook, Dallas, Denton, Euless, Fort Worth, McKinney, North Richland Hills, and Watauga participated and proclaimed the event to be well organized and good for the region as a whole.

   Parker County’s CERT team also set up a local Point of Dispensing (POD) drive-thru site during their October meeting as part of a “Cities Readiness Initiative” effort that is currently taking place across the North Texas region. POD sites are used by emergency management and health agencies to dispense medications or materials to the general public in the event of a health emergency.

   “Because of the evening set-up, they were able to test and experience traffic flow and dispensing procedures during a different set of circumstances,” Marshall said. “Training and drills are all about preparedness and Parker County is working hard for its residents!”

  Under the authority of Parker County Judge Mark Riley, Parker County’s Emergency Management team has gained statewide recognition for their commitment to save lives and assist the residents of Parker County in times of disaster or other emergencies.

    This most recent training drill is one of several conducted throughout the year, according to Riley.

    “We have a great emergency management team and thanks to the volunteer coordination efforts by Kit Marshall, we have developed one of the most important ingredients to a successful program and that is community volunteers,” he said.

   For more information on becoming a POD Site volunteer, or to become a CERT team member, contact Kit Marshall at 817-598-0969 or email her at kit.marshall@parkercountytx.com.

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