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Northwest Guilford CERT seeks volunteers, local funding and equipment; offers firefighter rehab support
Summary
Representatives of the Northwest Guilford Community Emergency Response Team presented their capabilities and asked Oak Ridge officials to consider local funding and collaboration for equipment and training.
Members of the Northwest Guilford Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) addressed the Town of Oak Ridge council on Sept. 5 to describe the volunteer group's mission, training and resources and to request awareness and potential funding support.
Lauren Hughes, a local resident and CERT member, and John Browning, a longtime Oak Ridge volunteer and Guilford County EMS paramedic, told council the group has about 25 volunteers and provides neighborhood-level emergency support, firefighter rehabilitation assistance at large incidents, traffic control at public events, light search and rescue and other FEMA‑aligned functions. “We are all neighborhood volunteers. We live in Oak Ridge, Summerfield and Stokesdale and the surrounding area,” Hughes said.
CERT members said each volunteer receives a response bag (roughly $100 per bag), training aligned with FEMA courses, and affiliation with Guilford County Emergency Management. The group asked the council to consider notifying them of grant opportunities or other public funds that could support equipment purchases and to consider coordinated funding at budget time. John Browning said CERT’s role is to supplement, not replace, professional fire and EMS capabilities and emphasized the value of pre‑incident training and local presence in the golden hour after major incidents.
Council thanked CERT and invited the group to be visible at Ridgefest and other community events.
