OTTAWA – The LaSalle County Emergency Management Agency will host a free disaster preparedness and response training class for county residents. The training, known as the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), will take place over a six-week period beginning Feb. 6 and continue every Tuesday evening from 5:30–9 p.m. through March 13.

The classes will be held at the LaSalle County EMA office (farthest south building at the government center), 711 E. Etna Road, Ottawa.

This 20-contact hour course consists of basic disaster preparedness, fire suppression, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster psychology and terrorism. The final class is a disaster simulation, in which participants will put their knowledge and skills to the test in a safe setting. To obtain the course completion certificate, participants must attend the final simulation and 80 percent of the classroom portion of the training.

LaSalle County EMA Deputy Director Fred Moore pointed out that during the past five years, LaSalle County has experienced at least one tornado per year including the historic June 22, 2016 outbreak that had eight confirmed tornadoes. “We want to encourage the residents of LaSalle County to resolve to be ready for any future natural, man-made or technological disasters,” Moore said.

The CERT training provides valuable information on how individuals can prepare themselves, their homes and even their neighborhood but the name is a slight misnomer. There is no need to join a team to participate in the training. However, for those interested, volunteer opportunities with the emergency management agency will be discussed briefly during one of the classes.

A minimum number of registrations are needed to hold this class. The deadline to sign up for this free training is Feb. 1. To register online, go to www.2018certtraining.eventbrite.com.

For questions, please contact the Emergency Management Agency office at (815) 433-5622.