Green vests are beacon of people who care
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
Who are those folks walking around events wearing bright green vests?
It’s Region 4’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members looking out for your safety.
Scott Belleville, Putnam’s fire marshal and emergency management director, said the 100 percent volunteer group started its first class in 2024 and currently has 48 members.
The trained volunteers are an added safety measure at events such as parades, events like Fire & Ice, the Main Street Car Cruise, fairs and much more.
According to Deputy Director Emergency Management John Turner: “CERT is a nationally recognized, state-sponsored, locally administered emergency response training program that trains residents to assist local governments and first responders during emergencies and large-scale community events. CERT members are trained in Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety, First Aid, Light Search and Rescue, and radio communications. CERT members receive additional training throughout the year in programs offered through the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.”
Belleville said it was his idea to get the program restarted. A lot of towns had had them and then lost them. The CERT Program had “kinda dwindled as towns saw less activity,” he said. “Let’s get this going.”
Turner “took the bull by the horns,” Belleville said. Turner got everything set up, got the classes set up.
Belleville added, “It was my concept and his drive” that led to the success of the Region 4 CERT program. Region 4 is the largest region geographically in Connecticut, running from Union to the shore. Forty-two towns and two tribal entities are covered.
Volunteers sign up for training. The last training session finished April 1 and the 16 who were certified brought the full complement to 48. Belleville hopes to have a module a month that keeps running. That way it will be “perpetual training.”
Turner was pleased with the graduates and with the instructors. “I would also like to thank each of the CERT instructors, Derek May, Brian Horne, Marshal Gohn, and Elaine Turner, for their part in making this a successful class. Also, thanks to our subject matter experts John Szamocki (of Thompson, Deputy Director Emergency Management) and Scott Belleville, who taught radio communications and Fire Safety and thank you to the current CERT members who helped with conducting the disaster drill.” For information on CERT, contact
The green vests are a visible symbol of safety. Belleville said all the volunteers carry first aid and have medical training. But it doesn’t stop there — for example, they have helped a lost child reunite with their parents. They can radio in to the police or fire departments.
“It’s all volunteer,” Belleville said. Funding comes from the federal Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, channeled through the state. That funding includes the classes, and backpacks. In the backpacks are a hard hat, the vest, first aid and medical supplies, gloves, ice packs, gauze, safety glasses and more.
About half of them are traffic incident management certified.
Belleville said “It’s going great; it’s well received.” At the recent Main Street Car Cruise, Belleville said Putnam Police Chief Christopher Ferace came into the Region 4 trailer and complimented the CERT members working the event. “He said ‘It was great. We appreciate the help’.”
Belleville is cognizant of the risk of burning out the volunteers. He recently said to them. “Hey look, we’re not going to do the fairs this year because I don’t want to burn you out.” Their response? “They were up in arms. They wanted to do the fairs.”
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