Citizens responded to the call for members of the newly formed San Juan Island Fire Rescue- Major Emergency Response Team (MERT) last week. Anyone interested in joining can attend an informational meeting set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 30 at the Mullis Street Fire Station.
The MERT program will help disseminate information during a major emergency such as an earthquake.
Volunteers must live within walking distance of their local fire station and attend a training session once a year. They cannot be a member of any other emergency response team on the island so that if an emergency does arise, they can devote their time to MERT.
They will help disseminate available information to agencies who will be interested such as Fire, Medical, and Red Cross. They may also be the contact person for family members.
MERT members will not be involved in most emergency procedures. They will only respond to major emergencies.
The MERT will meet yearly. The first meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, April 25, 2013 at the Mullis Street Fire station.
Those interested in volunteering for this most important, satisfying job should contact Ron Garner, Logistics Crew Chief, at rggarner@centurytel.net
or 378-7722 for more information.
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