New Joliet volunteer response team ready for emergencies

The new Certified Emergency Response Team in Joliet is a group of volunteers of different backgrounds, neighborhoods and ages with a common purpose.

“It’s getting to know the community,” Tim Carlin said when asked why he signed up. “I believe it’s my responsibility to help if I can help.”

The CERT volunteers number 28, and the plan is to expand the group to 200 by the end of 2026. A class for the next group of CERT trainees starts June 10.

The volunteers will be called upon in situations ranging from tornado aftermath to summer festivals.

Carlin is a retired Joliet firefighter who was on the force when the Plainfield tornado hit in 1990. He knows firsthand how much first responders need helping hands when disaster strikes.

“We weren’t overwhelmed for hours. We were overwhelmed for days,” he said, looking back at the response to the tornado.

Carlin isn’t the only retired firefighter among the CERT volunteers. But previous experience in emergency response is not a requirement.

The team includes two nuns from the Joliet-based Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, an order that has a long history of meeting community needs in the city.

“It’s an invaluable contribution to the community,” Sister Mary Frances Seeley said. “These are people who are volunteers and are of all ages.”

Seeley and Sister Phyllis Wilhelm live at Our Lady of Angels Village, a senior living community started by the Joliet Franciscans.

Wilhelm said their involvement in CERT also is good for their neighbors.

“We thought this would make the village a safer place,” she said.

First aid and more

CERT members serve as resources for their family and neighbors, as well as for the city’s first responders.

“I feel more secure because I know what to do in case of an emergency,” Caroline Schneider said.

In addition to being better able to take care of herself and her family, Schneider said she now is in a position to help her neighbors in a disaster.

“I would go over and say, ‘Are you OK?,’” she said. “If they have a cut, I now know how to bandage it.”

The CERT volunteers are trained in skills that include disaster preparedness, weather spotting, light search-and-rescue, fire suppression and emergency medical response. The program is overseen by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“If people are bleeding, we know how to bandage,” Patty Peterson said, adding that CERT training also taught the volunteers how to apply tourniquets and splints.

Jesus Najera is one of the younger members of Joliet CERT after moving into the city in the past year.

“I was put in a situation where I had some free time, and I wanted to contribute to the community,” Najera said.

Najera said that he now is certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator, two procedures used to save people having heart attacks.

Bob Horn came to Joliet four years ago to be closer to family after retiring from the fire department in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Horn said he had two reasons for joining CERT.

“I wanted to get acquainted with new friends and help people,” he said. “It’s still in my blood to help people.”

Likewise, Gerry Brillon, a retired Marine, saw an opportunity to get back into action.

“I needed to use my skills,” Brillon said. “My military and medical skills were leaking out.”

The first 28 members of Joliet CERT are from all areas of the city. They include people from all five City Council districts.

John Lukancic, director of the city’s Office of Emergency and Disaster Management, said he wants to have 100 people in CERT by the end of this year and 200 by the end of 2026.

The goal is to have people across the city, in the neighborhoods and close to home who can begin providing help in an emergency, he said.

“When something happens, these people can go out their doors and start helping people,” Lukancic said. “Our position is we want people to help themselves, because a lot of times there is going to be no help available immediately.”

Twenty people had signed up as of Thursday for the next nine-week training session, Lukancic said. Those interested in the program can get more information and register for the class on the city web site at joliet.gov/cert.