Hamden CERT
Community Emergency Response Team
Serving the Community in the Land of
The Sleeping Giant since 2004
"We do what we do for a cause, not for applause!"
"News & About Our Team!"
Hamden CERT, Annual Report 2024
Hamden CERT 2024
Annual Report
The Hamden CERT Program had a very busy year providing service to the Hamden Community. Along with the many Planned Community Events, the Team was also active with Public Service, Emergency Activations, Emergency Preparedness, Public Education and our ongoing training schedule. Hamden CERT provided logistical support to Hamden Fire Department, Hamden Police Department, Hamden Parks & Recreation, Town Center Park Commission, Hamden Arts, Keefe Community Center, and the Hamden Veteran’s Commission along with Hamden Community Services. We also were instrumental in the 2024 Hamden Holiday Toy/Food Drive that took place over the Christmas Holiday Seasons!
On April 18th, we graduated ten (10) students from our 22nd CERT Basic Training Class at the Dunbar Hill Volunteer Fire Station. We conducted another class (Hamden CERT Basic Training Class #23) that started in September and graduated eleven (11) students on November 14th. For more information on our program or the next upcoming free CERT Basic Training Class starting in February 2025, contact us on Facebook, Twitter or our website at: www.hamdencert.com.
Listed below are the details of our activity for 2024.
Emergency Calls - 5 Emergency Activations included CERT Response for four (4) Residential Structure Fires where we assisted displaced occupants and supplied rehabilitation services for our firefighters. CERT assisted with one other emergency activation that was to assist the Hamden Fire Department with logistical support during an extended operation at Sleeping Giant State Park during a search for a missing person on a very warm day back on July 13th.
Hamden CERT provided 92 Service Hours related to Emergency Activations during the year.
Planned Community Events – 14 Requests for assistance and logistical support that included: Earth Day, our Fireworks and Summer Concert Series, along with the organization of the Memorial Day Parade, The Hamden Festival & Road Race, Hamden Middle School 2-day Graduation Ceremony, National Night Out, Caribbean Festival, Hamden Animal Control Fundraiser, Brooksvale Fall Festival and the Silver Bells Holiday Venue.
Hamden CERT provided 780 Service Hours related to Community Events during the year.
Public Service/Public Education –29 We offered over 40 hours of emergency preparedness training to our residents at our two (2) CERT Basic Training Classes along with ongoing review classes for our sworn members. Fire Safety and Emergency Preparedness Information is also distributed by our members throughout the year at planned events, with classes given to Community Agencies on request.
Hamden CERT provided 778 Service Hours related to Public Service & Emergency Preparedness Training during the year.
Team Meetings/Training Sessions – 21 As always, safety is a priority for our community and our team members. We study all subjects that keep us aware of hazards as we stay focused on the safety of our community and our team members. Training sessions are held at each monthly meeting along with seminars and Citizen Corp sponsored events. Many of our training sessions this year addressed the needed cautions with Lithium-Ion Batteries and the many dangers that they produce due to improper charging and storage practices. Our members also spent hours becoming more familiar with our new Emergency Response Vehicle and Rehabilitation Equipment that we added to our cache.
Hamden CERT provided 786 Service Hours related to Monthly Team Meetings and on-going training throughout the year.
Hamden CERT Members, acting as a major part of Hamden’s Office of Emergency Management, volunteered their services over seventy (70) times during the year 2024 to assist our First Responders, Town Officials, Town Commissions, Students, Guests, Neighboring Communities, and our Hamden Residents. We also provided Mutual Aid assistance to the Manchester CERT Program for a major planned event and to North Haven CERT for their 4-day North Haven Fair.
We would like to thank Mayor Lauren Garrett, Fire Chief Jeffrey Naples and his staff, the Hamden Fire Department Maintenance Division, the Hamden Police Department, Public Works Director Joe Collello & his staff, the offices of Hamden Economic Development, Hamden Purchasing Department, Hamden Legislative Council, Hamden Rotary Club, Dunbar Hill Volunteer Firefighters and the Hamden Community for their continuing support of the Hamden CERT Program.
As always, it has been an honor to serve our Community this year with 2,438 service hours along with 1,700 hours (behind the scenes) dedicated to administrative record keeping, pre-plan meetings to prepare for community events, attending local and state meetings and calls, Team Members individual training sessions, in addition to the maintenance and upkeep of social media sites, vehicles, trailer, equipment and supplies that produced a total of 4,138 service hours, provided to our Town during 2024.
Respectfully submitted,
Robert J. Freeman, Jr.
Deputy Director, Hamden OEM
Hamden CERT Coordinator
Thursday, May 23, 2024
Hamden CERT invites teams from Hartford, Southington and Manchester CERT reviewing our Firefighter Rehabilitatioin Equipment and other Emergency Assets.
On Thursday evening, May 23rd we were happy to host some of our CERT Brothers and Sisters from Manchester, Southington and Hartford CERT Programs.
We displayed some of our firefighter rehabilitation equipment and supplies and also gave them a tour of both of our Emergency Response Vehicles. Thanks to Manchester CERT for bringing along their vehicles and displaying their cache of Drones and equipment.
As always, it’s a pleasure to visit with our other CERT Members from other towns since there is no distance between us when it comes to Emergency Management and CERT Programs!
February 7, 2024
Hamden CERT's New Emergency Response Vehicle Is Now Ready To Serve!
With a project that started back in October of last year, we have finally reached completion of adding another vehicle to our Hamden CERT Program. With our original vehicle reaching the 30-year milestone, it was time to look for a back-up that would be more dependable. We purchased a 2000 Ford 350 Ford Transit Van that was originally used by other local departments as a Dive Team Response Vehicle. With emergency lighting, scene lighting and an interior with two bench seats (seating for at least 8) and storage underneath, it was a perfect match for what we needed. Our plan is to have this vehicle serve as our primary vehicle for emergency response (Firefighter Rehabilitation & Fire Victim Assistance) and our older vehicle to be used for planned events and traffic & crowd management.
As you can see from many of the before & after photos, this project would not have been possible without the many months of work done by Our Members who saved us additional time & dollars in cleaning, building custom cabinetry & preparation for the exterior reflective emblems and lettering. We also thank our Mayor’s Office, our Fire Chief, our FD Maintenance Division, Economic Development Office, the Purchasing Department & Century Sign of Hamden for their assistance and support of this project that will not only benefit our 1st Responders but all members of our local & regional communities.
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Hamden CERT Program Chosen to receive the
Hamden Community Service Award by the Hamden Firefighters Awards Committee
for their contributions to the town
We the Members of the Hamden CERT Program would like to thank Mayor Garrett, Chief Naples and the Hamden Firefighters Awards Committee for their recognition of our team and the Community Service Award that was presented to our team members.
Our Volunteer Members graciously accept this award for all of our members, especially those, like many who could not attend the ceremony today because of work obligations. Whether if it is a bitter cold night of a sweltering hot weekend afternoon, our members are always there to support our firefighters, other 1st Responders and any civilians who may be the victims of any large-scale emergency. It is always our privilege to respond and be by the side of our Firefighters and other responders, while they perform their duties to protect the lives and property of our community members.
For those of you who took the time to come out today to honor our firefighters and civilians who helped make a difference, when misfortunes or emergencies occurred, we thank you! Special thanks to the Dunbar Hill Volunteer Firefightes from Station #8 for their hosptality and have given us a home! They have opened their station to us for all of our needs! We also would like to recognize our Unseen Partners from our "Hamden Central Communications Office" who answer every 911-Call and dispatch our Emergency Responders. Not only do they assist callers on their most trying moments but also serve as our guardians when we call them to send additional resources for our well-being and the needs of our community.
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
State of CT Announces Funding For The New Hamden Fire Department, Station #2
It's Great Day for the Hamden Fire Department along with our residents of the southern part of Hamden. Hamden CERT has called this station our home for our CERT vehicle, supplies & equipment for the last 5 years! We thank Chief Merwede, A/C Naples, the staff & especially the line personnel who have welcomed us & shared their home away for home with open arms! We truly appreciate all the members of HFD for their outstanding service to our community! Thank you for sharing your station with us!
Tuesday, June 18, 2021
Hamden CERT supports Hamden Middle School Staff with the "End of Year Celebration" over a
2-day period!
Our Hamden CERT Members were honored to support the “Hamden Middle School, End of Year Celebration” over the last 2 days. Congratulations to the Middle School Staff for an outstanding program that paid tribute to the students over 2 days during 4 separate sessions.
The Hamden Middle School Staff produced a great program, honoring the students who will be moving on to the high school, next year. We congratulate the students and wish them and the staff a fun filled, safe summer!
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Miller Library/Thornton Wilder Hall, Hamden CERT assisted Quinnipiac Valley Health District with the second of two COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics.
Thank you to our 16 Hamden CERT Members who came out to support the 2nd QVHD COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at the Thornton Wilder Hall. Hamden CERT Members managed many of the Logistical Support Functions like: Medical Screening, Registration and Transport Support for special needs patrons who needed assistance to and from their vehicles. Again, it was an honor to work along with Hamden Fire, the QVHD Team, Quinnipiac University Students, Miller Library and Hamden Senior Center Staff. Special “Thanks” goes out to our members who took a day off from work, to assist our community during this ongoing COVID-19 Emergency.
August 25, 2020
Hamden CERT helps to complete the 9th Community Food Distribution since the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic
(As of March 2022, we have completed our 25th Food Distribution!)
We just wanted to share some pictures that we received (Thank you Michelle!) from the last Hamden Community Services and Hamden Board of Education Food Distribution on August 25th. As we well know, the COVID 19 Pandemic has progressed from weeks to months and this was our 9th distribution since the beginning of the pandemic back in March! Our Hamden CERT Members have volunteered over 650 hours since the start of this community assistance project. Thank you to all of the volunteers from many different agencies and groups who made these distributions possible.
Hamden CERT activates to assist Food Distributions during the COVID-19 Pandemic
(Starting back in March of 2020)
As we prepared for the two busiest seasons of community events, we found ourselves in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, where every social gathering or community event has been canceled or postponed for the foreseeable future! We also had to postpone the remainder of our Basic Training Class #17 as we were ready to enter our 3rd week of training. We hope to regroup during the summer or at our next regularly scheduled class in September.
As an emergency response team, part of our preparations and training is for mass care, sheltering and points of distribution (POD’s). As we entered our third month of sheltering in place and social distancing, many individuals have been impacted by job loss, business closings, layoffs and home-schooling situations that were never planned for. Food supplies have been minimized because of increased purchases, limited supplies and financial income situations that have been stressed. Because of these trying conditions, we were contacted by Adam Sendroff of our Hamden Community Services and Family Engagement Coordinator Hector Velazquez about setting up a food distribution for families in need. With the assistance of the Mayor’s Office, the CT. Food Bank and Superintendent of Schools Jody Goeler, we went forward in planning our 1st food distribution on March 23rd. Under some difficult weather conditions of snow, sleet and rain that day, we were able to distribute food to over 250 families at the Dunbar Hill School with the assistance of the Board of Education and Hamden Police.
As the impact of the COVID-19 continued to increase by the hour, our local community was in need of increased support, so another distribution was planned for April 8th, with a set up day for packaging on April 7th. With the help of the CT. Food Bank, Hamden PD, Christ Bread of Life Parish, National Guard and other volunteers, we were able to support close to 400 families with food to sustain them for the next few weeks. Twenty-two (22) of our Hamden CERT Members Volunteered over 187 Service Hours over the 3 days of preparation and distribution of needed items for close to 700 families! We also have just completed our 3rd distribution on April 27th with 18 of our members helping another 400 families with a variety of food products. It was an honor for our Team Members to be able to assist and reassure our community during these very difficult times. We stand ready for any other needs during this disaster that is affecting all of us and we will get through this together!
"Please continue to: Be Safe and Be Smart, we'll get through this together!"
Winter Season
December to March
With the start of winter, Hamden CERT members prepare their personal gear for colder weather and restock their Mobile Command/ Firefighter Rebab Units with heating equipment and supplies. The CERT Mobile Command Vehicles are major assets of Hamden Fire Department for helping displaced citizens from residential fires and also helps to rehab firefighters during extended operations.
At many of the Multi-Alarm Residential Fires that have accrued over the last few years, CERT sheltered/warmed & assisted dozens of families & individuals for hours until firefighters could assist them back into their apartments to retrieve their personal belongings and car keys.
Spring Season
April to June
.
As the snow starts to melt, and we head into spring we step up our preparation for the height of Flooding Season and prepare our shelter equipment and supplies.
We take our Monthly Training Sessions outside & introduce some of our newer members to our vehicles and equipment. Some of our major spring activities are for supporting the Graduation of our February Class Students, the Annual Earth Day Celebration and logistical support for the Memorial Day Parade.
Congratulations to Hamden CERT on their National Recognition in the latest issue of "CERT Responder Magazine!"
Congratulations to the Members of Hamden CERT on their National Recognition in the latest issue of "CERT Responder Magazine"! Thank you to Mayor Curt Leng and Fire Chief Gary Merwede for your support of our dedicated members and our community service program!
January 21, 2019
Hamden CERT Activated to open a secondary warming center for the victims of the Ice Storm, impacting over 5,000 residents!
Hamden CERT was activated to open and assist with a Warming Center for the thousands of Hamden residents that were without power and heat over the last 24 hours. Thanks to our 9 Team Members who came out and also donated snacks to the folks who were impacted by this ice storm. Also, our gratitude to Falcon Pizza for stepping up again for our folks in need!
People helping people, great work team!
About Our Program
Our Vision
Using the skills and training learned in the classroom during exercises, Teen CERT Members can assist their family members and others in their School or neighborhood following an emergency incident when professional 1st responders are not immediately available to help.
CERT Members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies and community organizations by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.
Our Mission
During emergencies, the mission of Hamden CERT is three-fold: to first assist our families, then our neighbors and finally our community. After meeting the needs of our family and neighbors, our primary mission is to assist our Police and Fire Services along with our community during any extended emergency operation.
In non-emergencies, we operate as a team alongside our first responders, especially during large, planned public events. During large-scale emergencies that would deplete the on-duty personnel, we work to supplement them. Two of our major functions have been rehabilitation of our first responders because of severe weather conditions, and providing assistance to displaced citizens. We are honored to be a major partner in the structure of Hamden’s Office of Emergency Management.