NORTH SMITHFIELD – North Smithfield Emergency Management Agency Director Peter Branconnier estimates that in the years he’s been running the town’s Community Emergency Response Training, he’s prepared more than 1,000 people how to protect their homes, property – and the larger community – in times of disaster.
This April, he’ll offer the latest iteration of the course, started in response to 9/11, training a new round of potential life savers free of charge. The town’s CERT program teaches skills for when major disasters threaten public safety, which allow family members to help each other, neighbors to help neighbors and employees to assist their fellow workers.
Funded in part through a state Emergency Management Planning Grant, the eight week course includes training on the psychology of disaster trauma; light search and rescue; emergency preparedness; fire safety; basic first aid; terrorism; CERT operation; and participation in a CERT team – with all training materials provided at no cost to participants.
And Branconnier’s program has a reach well beyond town borders. The course is open to anyone, and has trained participants from across Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts.
“A lot of communities used to do this, but they don’t do it anymore,” he told NRI NOW this week. “You never know what’s going to happen and with this, you’re prepared.”
A local emergency expert certified in Emergency Management Operations, Branconnier has held the NSEMA director position since 1970, the town’s first year of government under a Home Rule Charter, when he served under Carl Sandberg, North Smithfield’s first town administrator.
In the 50 years since, most of his work has been volunteer, although he began receiving a small annual stipend under former Town Administrator Paulette Hamilton back around 2008. The federal government, he notes, covers half of his nominal fee.
The CERT course started in 2002 under the umbrella of EMA, with the first classes held in the basement of the North Smithfield Police Department. In recent years, the facilities have seen a major upgrade with new towers, radios and a dedicated space in the basement of the recently renovated Town Hall at 83 Green St.
The course itself was first launched in California, and now also serves as a recruitment mechanism for North Smithfield’s own small, volunteer army known as the CERT Team. The group stands ready to help during both weather events and major town gatherings, such as the annual Pumpkin Festival, Clean & Green Day and the Northmen 5K. Just last year, when the town experienced major flooding, CERT Team members could be found out on North Smithfield roadways, setting up barricades and directing traffic.
“We had people working with the fire department,” Branconnier said. “We had people out everywhere.”
The group – which currently has some 15-20 members – was also a major asset in North Smithfield’s response to Covid-19, scheduling vaccine appointments, handing out test kits and staffing vaccine clinics.
“The town was lucky, because they got a lot of volunteers to help out through us,” said Branconnier. “We did a lot during Covid.”
Participation in the CERT course varies year to year, with classes of 12 up to 25 people.
“After 9/11 there was a lot of interest,” said the director, who at age 80, brings extensive knowledge and experience to the training.
“It’s worked out very well,” he said.
Some years, he notes, there’s been no funding available and NSEMA can’t offer the program. Supplies and coursework are purchased through the EMPG grant, with the town itself providing the second half. Feedback when he does run it, Branconnier said, is typically very good, with notes of thanks and recommendations to others.
“The best feedback we can get is when they want to join EMA,” he said, noting that last year, North Smithfield’s on call CERT Team got three new volunteers.
In 2022, the longtime EMA director began helping out with a second free training program in town, assisting Rhode Island EMS Instructor Coordinator Richard Savaria with a class known as Stop the Bleed. That free course, which will be offered in town again in March, teaches participants how to react in incidents such as cardiac arrest, chocking and serious bleeding, making bystanders prepared to help until professional care arrives. The class has regularly attracted 30 or more participants of all ages and backgrounds.
“It’s for everybody,” Branconnier said. “It’s a very, very popular program.”
And the class may have already helped to save a life, with one trained resident stopping at an accident scene in recent months to help an injured driver. More information, including registration for the upcoming Stop the Bleed can be found here.
“You never know when you’re going to have to do something in an emergency situation,” Branconnier said.
The CERT class, meanwhile, will be held on Tuesday nights from April 8 through June 3, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. Classes will take place at the NSEMA office in the lower level of Town Hall at 83 Greene St.
Graduates of the program will receive a CERT identification card and those who join the CERT team will receive a CERT disaster kit.
Those interested can apply online by visiting www.NorthernRIReact.org on the CERT link, or by calling the EMA office during regular business hours at (401) 767-2206 for a copy of the application, and emailing the completed form to [email protected].
For more information contact Branconnier at (401) 767-2206 or Jay Levenson at (401) 230-9327.
Editor’s note: An original version of this article stated that the class would begin April 23, as noted in a press release. The date has been corrected above.
