Scituate Fire Department opens doors to community

P.J. Kent, 13, gave the water hose a try.

“I was surprised at how strong it was,” Kent said. At first Kent needed help from firefighter Jim Shea, but within seconds Kent had his own grip on the hose as it shot water at a fake house set up for target practice.

Also at the open house were Kevin Lake (above) and Jim Bailey, who set up a table to recruit volunteers for the department’s Community Emergency Response Team, an initiative begun more than five years ago by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The team is made up of volunteers who attend a 16-hour training session to become a backup source of trained assistants if the department is overwhelmed by a natural disaster or other catastrophe.

“We do a number of things,” said Bailey. “Basic first aid, crowd control, site and damage assessment—anything the department might need help with if there’s a major problem,” he said.

Lake and Bailey were members of the first CERT class to graduate in September 2005.
Hundreds of cities and towns across the country have formed CERT teams, Lake said, and believes nearly every South Shore community has one.

Currently the Scituate team has about 20 members, and more are always welcome. During the open house at least three people signed up for the team. Anyone interested in joining the team can contact the department at 781-545-8749 or visit the department’s Website at www.scituatefire.org.