Sixth annual CERT conference is Sept. 24, 25 in Northern Virginia
The Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will sponsor the sixth annual CERT conference (CERTCON 2016) in the National Capital Region on Sept. 24 and 25.
The focus of CERTCON 2016 is “Back to Basics – Neighbors Helping Neighbors.” The goal is to expose each attendee to opportunities to refresh his or her CERT skills and techniques. An elective schedule of classroom presentations, demonstrations, workshops and hands-on sessions will allow participants to return home to their neighborhoods, businesses and CERT teams with a customized experience of refreshed skills.
CERTCON 2016 is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Annandale Campus of the Northern Virginia Community College and Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Lorton Training Site. All CERTs are invited to attend, and we especially encourage CERTs from the mid-Atlantic region to seize the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills sets, as well as be exposed to new and different techniques and tools. The objective for this CERTCON is to make us all more effective as "Neighbors Helping Neighbors." If you’re still not sure if you want to attend CERTCON 2016, check out tentative Saturday, Sept. 24 schedule of sessions:
Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States, A Surprising History - Rick Schwartz
Controlling Utilities in Your Home - Jonathan Wood, Fair Oaks VFRC
Traumatic Triage - Dr. Dan Avstreih, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue
Blood Borne Pathogens – Capt. Pete Masters, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue
Bystander Care – Greg St. James, Montgomery County CERT
Excellence in Leadership, Phil Amtower. MO CERT I
Autism Spectrum and First Responder - Scott Campbell
Everything Duct Tape – Anita Van der Merwe, Missy Tuttle-Ferrio
Crowd Management and Community Events - Barry Feil, director, Celebrate Fairfax
Emergency Communications in Disasters - ARRL
Community Animal Response Team (CART), Louisa County
Exercise Design and Execution – Derek Rowan
On Sunday, Sept. 25, the conference will be capped with a full-day of exercises and demonstrations at the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue training facility in Lorton, Virginia. Throughout the day, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on refresher exercises that will challenge their skills in search and rescue and first aid.
You may register at certcon2016.eventbrite.com.
Additional sponsors of CERTCON 2016 are the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Georgetown University CERT, Prince George’s County CERT, Montgomery County CERT, the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department, DC Serve, and Navy Federal Credit Union.
