CERT-trained volunteer uses emergency skills at annual Locust Street Festival

Preparedness training not just for major disasters

The story starts in the early evening hours of Sunday, June 14. The band was playing, the food stands were busy and hundreds of people were enjoying the annual Locust Street Festival in Milwaukee. According to witnesses, two men, who police believe were acquainted, pushed one another as they passed in the crowd. One of the men, a 17-year old, pulled out a gun and fired a single shot, injuring the 38-year old victim’s right thigh and left hand. The shooter then fled the scene while the victim called to the crowd for assistance.

Luckily, one of those close by was CERT-trained Sally Nordstrom. In a thank you note to training coordinators at the Emergency Management Bureau in the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, Nordstrom described how the training she received prepared her for quick action in the crisis, “I was able to help out until real help arrived. From the training I knew what to do for him. I stuck my thumb over the bullet hole in his thigh (the cloth from his pants was between my thumb and the wound) and the bleeding slowed.”

Nordstrom continues, “A nurse was also in the crowd and she took care of the hand wound and monitored his vital signs. I showed another person how to compress the wound and then helped to calm the victim's wife by having her sit on the ground and elevate [the victim’s] head in her lap.  Once the bleeding was slowed, his head was elevated, and he was being monitored by a nurse, we knew we had done the best we could.”

The victim was taken to a local hospital and was listed in good condition.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.  Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members like Sally Nordstrom can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace when first responders are not immediately available.