Fairfield Harbour CERT Hosts Community Mock Disaster Drill

New Bern, NC, October 06, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Fairfield Harbour, a residential boating and golf community located 16 minutes from historic New Bern, has announced that its Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concluded its September CERT training program with a mock disaster drill at the Fairfield Harbour POA office and activity center. The mock drill tested the abilities of 16 new CERT members with a tornado disaster scenario. Members responded to victims inside and outside of buildings and sent those injured to triage units when needed. The practice included implementing a marking system to identify a structure’s safety in the wake of the scenario. Harbour Lights, a local acting group, applied makeup to volunteers acting as victims to create a realistic picture of the drill.

CERT training is a nationally recognized program made available by FEMA that educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Identical programs are offered across the United States in a national effort to train volunteers who wish to respond to disasters. Fairfield Harbour’s CERT members were joined by several other surrounding communities to participate in the tornado disaster scenario. All CERT member participants received a certificate of course completion at the conclusion of the drill.

Quotes:
“Fairfield Harbour was pleased to include members from New Bern and the surrounding areas to complete this disaster drill,” said Mystre’ Van Horn, on-site community manager for Fairfield Harbour. “Working with CERT members allows our residents and neighbors to feel better prepared to respond to disasters when they strike.”

“Our community really appreciates the work that the Fairfield Harbour CERT members do to prepare us for hazardous situations,” said Larry Knapp, president of the Fairfield Harbour board of directors. “This mock drill was an excellent way to test our CERT members and gave volunteers an opportunity to implement the knowledge they learned during the CERT training courses.”

“The mock drill showed how the CERT course has helped to prepare the community for almost any situation,” said Marcia Richmond, director of Fairfield Harbour CERT. “Together, Fairfield Harbour and its neighbors can be better prepared to appropriately handle a disaster and are ready to respond if a crisis should occur.”

About Fairfield Harbour:
Established in 1975, Fairfield Harbour is a boating and golf community located 15 minutes from historic New Bern, North Carolina. Residents living in this recreational, resort and retirement community have access to numerous social networks as well as a 75-acre manmade harbor along the Neuse River that lies only 18 miles from the Intracoastal Waterway. Fairfield Harbour is located on more than 2,000 acres and includes more than 1,300 privately-owned single family homes, 144 condominiums and 24 townhouses. Dedicated to giving back to the community, Fairfield Harbour and its residents actively support more than 75 nonprofit groups in the region, including the Wounded Warrior Project, Tryon Palace, Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation and Coastal Women’s Shelter. Community Association Services (CAS, Inc.), which is led by John Stone, president, serves as the professional management company for Fairfield Harbour. Fairfield Harbour was most recently named “Community of the Year” by the Community Association Institute of North Carolina. For more information about Fairfield Harbour, visit http://www.fhpoa.com.