Elgin offers first emergency preparedness program in Spanish

Marco A. Muniz Ortiz realized he needed to learn about emergency preparedness ever since he watched, at age 6, his house burn down to the ground in his native Mexico.

Decades later, he got up to speed by completing the Elgin Police Department's Community Emergency Response Team program two years ago.

He now keeps three backpacks in his house - two in the basement, one upstairs - filled with emergency supplies such as a First Aid kit, rope, tools and a fire-making kit, along with extra clothing, water and a flashlight in his car.

Ortiz plans to share his knowledge as a translator for the police department's first Spanish-language CERT program that starts May 9. His 14-year-old twin daughters will take the class, too, he said.

"We've got a lot of Spanish population over here, but sometimes the language can be a little barrier to get the information or the emergency tips that they can get," he said. "I'm excited about teaching that."

The police department offers the CERT program - which follows the guidelines of a national model - in English multiple times a year, including one starting May 7, but the Spanish-language version is a much-needed addition, said Karen Flanagan, the city's office of emergency management coordinator.

The police department already offers Spanish-language police citizens academy classes, which have been very successful, she said.

CERT classes are open to anyone regardless of age and residence. Topics include medical operations, search and rescue, fire safety, disaster psychology, terrorism awareness and more. The training ends with a "mock disaster" session completed with fake-bloodied victims.

For more information or to register, visit cityofelgin.org/index.aspx? nid=256 or contact Flanagan at (847) 289-2533 or flanagan_k@cityofelgin.org.

Flanagan said she's working on ways to help special needs populations - such as seniors, the deaf and the blind - to be better prepared for emergencies. She also plans to organize a disaster preparedness expo sometime this fall in Elgin. The first such expo was held in 2013.

Graduates of Elgin's CERT class can join a team of volunteers who are mobilized in times of disaster, such as earlier this month when tornadoes hit communities in north central Illinois. The team dropped off in Kirkland, several truckloads of donations gathered in Elgin.

It was an eye-opening experience, Muniz Ortiz said. "It didn't happen to us (volunteers) but we felt it," he said. "I can't explain the feeling. There is no words. It's sad and nervous, a little mix of everything."

Flanagan said she's helped out in disasters such as hurricanes in Florida, but never after a tornado.

"I've been doing this for 11 years. I've talked about it and read about it and listened to conferences, but until you get there in the middle of the sadness and devastation and the smell, you don't understand. It brought me to tears," Flanagan said.

"Every time something like that happens, I want people to understand - it can happen here."