Emergency Response Team Training Starts Tuesday

The Berkshire County Community Emergency Response Team will present a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training during August.

The 7-session training will take place Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6 to 10 P.M. at Berkshire Medical Center, 725 North St., Pittsfield. It's a free program, but a firm commitment to all 7 sessions is required for certification, so you'll want to clear your calendar for the evenings of August 21, 23, 28, 30 and September 4 and 6.

The topics that will be covered are:

• Disaster Preparedness
• Fire Suppression
• Disaster Medical Operations
• Light Search & Rescue Operations
• Disaster Psychology
• Team Organization
• Terrorism

To sign up contact Mike Britton at certberkshire@verizon.net or call (413) 229-2490 and leave your name and phone number.

Also, coming up on Wednesday, August 22, FEMA's new individual preparedness training course will be offered from 6 to 10 P.M. at Berkshire Medical Center's Hillcrest Campus,175 Tor Court in Pittsfield. It offers hands-on training in basic skills meant to keep a person with life threatening injuries alive until professional help arrives. To sign up for that course, call 413-447-2257 or email lbritton@bhs1.org