Warnings of terrorist attacks since Sept. 11, 2001, keep Americans anxious two-and-a-half years later — and Evanston is worried, too.
Now if an attack occurs, Evanston residents can call the newly formed Community Emergency Response Team.
CERT, which was inaugurated this year, consists of a group of volunteers on-call 24 hours a day to help during a terrorist attack or natural disaster, said Max Rubin, director of Evanston’s facilities management department.
Thomas Janetski, assistant director for Evanston’s emergency services, said the presence of Chicago and Northwestern creates an even greater need for a community emergency team in the city. CERT holds quarterly meetings with the university to coordinate emergency-response efforts.
“The proximity is a major concern, of course, because we are at greater risk,” he said. “We have realized that there just isn’t enough emergency response to meet everyone’s needs.”
Janetski said the first CERT team will be ready next month after 12 weeks of extensive training that includes lectures and mock scenarios.
“They might have to help with a rescue if a building collapses,” Rubin said. “We try not to put them in harm’s way, but it’s a good way to augment our forces out there in times of crisis.”
Trish Barr, a retired investment banker, is a newly selected member of CERT. In order to fill one of the 15 team spots, members must be graduates of the Citizen Police Academy program at Evanston Police Department.
Barr said being on the response team is her civic duty after being protected by city services.
“You owe somebody something for walking around in one piece,” Barr said.
CERT is a national program, and the $23,000 price tag is funded through grants from the Federal Emergency Management Association. Rubin said members will carry pagers 24 hours a day and will be on-call during emergencies.
“We’ll be there to help shelter people, direct traffic and help clear up the confusion — try to restore equilibrium,” Barr said.
Janetski said the CERT program’s most beneficial effect is freeing police and fire department resources. He said if the community responds well, the city plans to develop a second team.
“These people are ordinary citizens that are making a real difference to the community,” Rubin said. “Every bit of help we get matters.”
Even prior to Sept. 11, Evanston prepared for terrorist attacks by sending civil-service workers to the U.S. Department of Justice’s weapons of mass destruction training sites, Janetski said. Evanston has been sending more people recently.
Evanston is set to renew its terrorism property insurance coverage with Factory Mutual Insurance Company today, said Barbara Carlson, representative of Factory Mutual Insurance Company. The plan covers damage resulting from an act of terrorism.
Evanston also collaborated with the Illinois Emergency Services Management Association in a mutual aid agreement last December, Vice President Lee Shannon said. More than 400 volunteers, police officers, firemen and emergency management representatives are in IESMA, which helps plan city defense services for crises.
Although Evanston has participated in similar pacts with other cities, this statewide cooperation draws smaller, rural towns that might not have been included in past mutual aid agreements.
“If Evanston needs emergency management with field operation, all they have to do is call the state, and the mutual aide agreement is activated,” Shannon said.
Janetski said mutual aid agreements are beneficial because cities can share resources.
“We are beginning to realize that we don’t have enough resources on our own,” he said. “With a mutual aide agreement, help is just a phone call away.”
