CERT Certification

      Many of the members in HOSA are already CPR certified. Yet, being the health fanatics that we are, we are always looking to learn something new. Mrs. Kohntopp introduced us to the CERT certification program. All of us jumped onto this opportunity.
      Our CERT certification began by taking the online course. That thing was brutal, requiring many hours of reading and filling out practice examples. It probably took each of us a week to get through all the modules. Then, we took the final test that gave us the certificate we had worked so hard for. Yet, our CERT certification was only half way through. We still needed an instructor to teach us basic things that all CERT certified people should know.
      Marissa Young, our HOSA president, contacted her uncle Danny Young. He had the qualifications an instructor needed. He was a local EMT, volunteer firefighter, and actually taught multiple other courses to people. The day was set on December 16, 2013 that he would come in a teach us all we needed to know.
      Danny Young came into class that day carrying many bags of supplies. He began by teaching us the safety procedures in a HAZMAT situation. He actually had three suits that our members could try on. We learned there was a lot of steps in putting a HAZMAT suit on. You needed to put on the heavy air tank that probably weighed about 15 pounds! Then there was the issue of actually getting into the suit with all the equipment on. The day was ended by discussing the different classifications of fires. Most importantly, we were taught when arriving on a scene to always make sure you are not putting yourself in danger.
      This wrapped up our CERT certification, officially allowing us to call ourselves CERT certified. The end count of the number of members certified was 15. That was great number for our chapter. Now, on to the next thing to learn!

Zoee Castro, Elko High School

Secretary