Putnam CERT unveils new emergency response trailer

Putnam County CERT member Jim Spore points out some of the features of the new emergency response trailer he and other volunteers recently completed for the local emergency team. Valued at around $10,000, the trailer (below) is ready for response the next time CERT is deployed.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

The culmination of some serious fundraising throughout 2016, the Putnam County Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) recently unveiled an emergency response trailer that will serve not only CERT, but the other local agencies the team is called to assist.

CERT member Jim Spore spearheaded the effort to outfit the unit from a plain box trailer to a functioning response unit for the county.

The $3,000 trailer was opbtained through a grant from Indiana Department of Homeland Security District 7.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

Spore, Todd Zeiner and Jim Barker then set out to get the trailer ready for service. This included reinforcing the walls and installing shelves for the storage of equipment.

The trailer includes a high antenna for amateur radio operation, a generator as well as outlets to plug into other power sources, flood lights installed by Bill Newgent and JTN Services, as well as a green light to denote the command post in certain emergency situations.

The equipment installed includes medical supplies, emergency backpacks, personal protective equipment, tents, even a chainsaw, and various other equipment for use when CERT is called upon to assist local fire departments, emergency medical personnel and police departments.

Spore estimated that the trailer and equipment have a total value of $10,000.

CERT) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization that provides Putnam County’s Emergency Management Agency with certified and experienced manpower as needed to assist in the mitigation of emergency situations and local disasters.

Previous Deployments of PC CERT have included property damage assessment in the Reelsville area, active shooter exercise at Putnam County Hospital, air operations for air-based search, search and rescue and emergency medical response exercise at Lieber State Park, polar vortex event, lost hunter deployment, Heritage Lake tornado response and property damage assessment, county-wide DePauw hazardous materials spill exercise, deep woods search and rescue, outreach events at Heritage Lake and Reelsville and the PC CERT Jamboree at District 7 training grounds.

The current CERT roster includes between 60 and 65 volunteers, a number that organizers would like to see grow to 75 to 80 in 2017.

For more information on CERT, email csi@iendeavor.com or search PC CERT on Facebook.