Riverside County Accepts Grant For Natural Disaster Training

A $536,884 federal grant to support training for natural disasters and other emergencies was accepted today by the Riverside County Board of Supervisors.

The Emergency Management Performance Grant will be used by the county's Office of Emergency Services and cities within the county to fund programs geared to preparedness and response, according to OES Director Peter Lent.

He told City News Service that the county will retain about $200,000, while the balance will be distributed to more than a dozen municipalities.

According to Lent, the county's share will go toward covering salaries
for two staff members who maintain the county's emergency operations center in downtown Riverside, as well as paying for classes for volunteers with the county's Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT.

At least one CERT program is held every month to teach civilians how to become "spontaneous first responders,'' Lent said.

The emphasis is on basic medical triage, fire suppression, light search-and-rescue and how to react in an urban disaster, according to the OES manager.

He said 16 cities in the county have their own CERT programs.

Under the grant terms, the money must be spent before the end of the current fiscal year, or June 30.

Recipients of funds must match whatever they receive, dollar-for-dollar.

However, according to Lent, the grant allows for a "soft'' match, such as using a staff member's labor to equal the monetary value of a portion of the grant award.