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Passaic sponsored the start of its Community Emergency Response Team under the Office of Emergency Management.
The first group of four volunteers recently finished 24 hours of training at Passaic County Public Safety Academy.
Santiago Almodovar, Nancy India Franceschi, Radhames Rodriguez and Pedro Ruiz were the first members.
"We are recruiting from within the community and helping to supplement existing emergency response resources,” Mayor Alex D. Blanco. “I am proud of the support from our public safety professionals, including our Public Safety Director Rich Diaz and Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Walter Porto, who have worked hard to get the city’s CERT program up and running.”
The members trained over multiple weekends.
CERT will help existing emergency services personnel during community events and emergencies, which will free up other staffers, Blanco said.
"This is a way to strengthen public safety and increase community involvement without significant cost to residents,” Blanco said. “For example, CERT volunteers can perform crowd or traffic control, and allow police officers to remain on patrol.”
The CERT team will continue to grow with the next training session in May, the mayor said.
TO JOIN: Call city hall at 973-365-5510.
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