CERT Bell Hill is the Community Emergency Response Team designated as CERT 5 by the Clallam County Fire District 3 (CCFD #3), Sequim Operational Area, of the Clallam County, Washington CERT Program.
At the present it encompasses the area of Bell Hill, Happy Valley, East of Happy Valley Road, extending North and South of Highway 101 to the 7 Cedars Casino. It originally had member just from the Highland Hills Maintenance Commission area, but as new members join, CERT 5 has extended new squads in neighborhood beyond Highland Hills.
CERT members provide immediate assistance to victims in their area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources when they arrive. CERT promotes a partnership between emergency management and response agencies and the people in the community they serve. The goal is to train members of our neighborhoods in basic response skills. Then CERT teams are formed and maintained as part of the emergency response capability for their area.
If there is a natural or man-made event that overwhelms or delays the community’s professional responders, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during their CERT training. These skills can help save and sustain lives until professional help arrives. CERT members also volunteer for special community projects that improve the community’s preparedness and safety.
Members are all volunteers. They are graduates of the 24-hour CCFD #3’s CERT basic training course. When an incident occurs, the CERT Bell Hill team will gather and set up a team command post on the driveway in front of 142 Owls Nest Road. Our Zulu Squad is based at 14 Maple Creek Lane, off Louella Road.
Search and Rescue, Support, and Medical Squads will be deployed around Bell Hill and our other squad area designations based on event circumstances and situation reports. Trained CERT members deploy in squads to provide the community with first contact by emergency services. Team members assist injured, provide basic first aid, clear trapped survivors and communicate an assessment of the neighborhood through their Division Chief, to the Sequim Operational Area. They provide from search and rescue of light to moderately damaged homes. They do not enter heavily damaged homes but report the need for help to the Sequim Operational Area.
As the disaster progresses, CERT members may be re-tasked by the fire department to perform other missions besides search and rescue.
CERT Bell Hill members meet monthly for ongoing training and organizational development. They participate in annual CCFD 3 CERT drills with all the CERT teams in the Sequim Operational Area. The captain and squad leaders attend quarterly CCFD Area Command 5 Operations Review Meetings.
