READY—Oak Park High School students, from left, Oak Park resident Kevin Marks, 17; Thousand Oaks resident Eric Henderson, 17; and Oaks Park residents Jake Komet, 16; Jacob Barrett, 18; Jason Kopstein, 17; and (victim) Dennis Wheeler, 17, participate in CERT exercises at the school. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Training. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Students enrolled in a teen Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class at Oak Park High School graduated from the program on March 11.

Before they earned a certificate of completion, the 22 graduates had to prove they’d learned the necessary skills to help family, friends and neighbors in the event of a disaster.

The course was offered as part of Brenda Pasqua’s Sports Medicine 3 class at the school. Students learned emergency medical operations, search and rescue techniques, triage and patient transport. They also learned about fire safety and suppression, disaster psychology and how to respond to terrorism.

Ramona Armijo, coordinator of the CERT program for the Ventura County Fire Department, said the Oak Park High course was the first high school class in Ventura County to complete the teen CERT curriculum.

“As a result of the Oak Park program, we will be able to identify best practices while improving and expanding the class to more high schools throughout the county,” Armijo said.

She added that the program provides students with emergency and leadership skills.

“It also establishes an emergency response asset for schools and creates an avenue to deliver preparedness messages to friends and families,” she said. “The program develops a culture of preparedness in tomorrow’s community leaders while promoting a connection with first responders in their neighborhood.”

The class was conducted on alternate days from January to March 11.

Diane Starzak, a longtime member of the Oak Park CERT, said the teen program served as a pilot. “ We hope, if all goes well, this class will be a prototype for other schools to emulate,” she said.

The final drill required students to rescue victims from a smoke-filled room (the teachers lounge), put them on stretchers and treat their injuries on the school lawn. Drama students portrayed the victims with realistic screams, moans and fear.

Starzak said she hopes the class taught students to be “a calming force” in a disaster.

“Instead of hitting the panic button, they can help themselves and the people around them,” she said. “Hopefully, awareness has been raised and they are always prepared.”

Pasqua said the course counted as a practical elective requirement. Besides basic emergency skills, students learned how to safely use a fire extinguisher to put out fires set in a trash can. Students also learned cribbing skills. “Cribbing” is the term for using wood or crowbars to free people who are trapped by something heavy, she said.

When resources are spread thin during a disaster, firefighters turn to first responders for help.

“We teach kids to be selfsufficient,” Pasqua said.

Oak Park High Principal Kevin Buchanan said the program is a “feather in the cap for the school.”

Tucker Costello, a ninthgrade student in the program, said the class was awesome.

“It’s really cool how we have learned how to be prepared for a disaster,” Tucker said. “I see myself signing up for the adult (CERT program) in the future.”

Eleventh-grade student Monica Terussa said she is interested in a career in medicine and will either follow in her father’s footsteps and train to be a paramedic, or go to school to become a nurse.

Monica said she loved the idea that teens could benefit the community during a disaster. “I will be ready,” she said.

For information on the program, call Armijo at ( 805) 389- 9724 or e- mail ramona.armijo@ventura.org.