Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • July 25, 2012 Area The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management recently supplied Community Emergency Response Teams in several municipalities, including Ho-Ho-Kus and Waldwick, with specialized disaster response and flood response trailers. The trailers will enhance the communities’ emergency response capabilities during times of crisis and assist first responders during flooding events. Riverine flooding is the most frequent hazard faced by New Jersey residents, with 1,196 flood events in the past 15 years. There have been 16 floodrelated Presidential Disaster Declarations within the same time period. Ho-Ho-Kus also received a mobile command post utility trailer. CERT trailers donated; Ho-Ho-Kus gets command unit “We are the first CERT group in New Jersey to receive such a trailer as this mobile command post and we will be working with Howie Butt to outfit it as a mobile communications unit as well,” said Ho-Ho-Kus CERT Program Manager Stanley Kober. “New Jersey is proud to be home to one of the nation’s largest CERT programs - 19,000 volunteers organized into 432 teams,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, state police superintendent and director of the NJ Office of Emergency Management. “The program is robust because of citizen engagement, neighbor helping neighbor, a New Jersey tradition. We will continue to support our volunteers’ efforts by equipping them with resources, such as the Waldwick CERT members accept their new disaster response utility trailer at a ceremony at New Jersey State Police Division Headquarters in West Trenton. Front row: Bergen County Police Detective Gidget Petry and Jean Paras. Back row: Tom Schuckman; Waldwick Police Sergeant Frank Paccione, Brian Finale, Jennifer Sheffield, Robert Rose, Richard Weller, and Waldwick Fire Prevention Official/OEM member James O’Connell. Members of Ho-Ho-Kus CERT received a mobile command post utility trailer and disaster response utility trailer. Present at the ceremony were New Jersey State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes, Jim Schwartz, Joe Stewart, Asha Unnikrishnan, Stanley Kober, and Carol Tyler. Disaster Response and Flood Response Utility Trailers. Fifteen communities are receiving equipment today, but it’s also a time to thank and recognize all CERT volunteers who serve others selflessly during adverse conditions.” In addition to Waldwick and Ho-HoKus, the following communities received disaster response utility trailers: Bernardsville, Hillsborough, Riverfront CERT (Burlington City, Burlington Township, and Florence Township), Brick Township, Ocean Township, Hoboken, Readington, River Vale, and Woodbridge. The disaster response utility trailers are worth $9,830 each. Each trailer is equipped with a generator, basic medical supplies, lighting equipment, tools, tents, and evacuation support equipment. The following CERT organizations received flood response utility trailers: Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, Rahway, County of Monmouth, and Pemberton. The flood response trailers are strategically located across New Jersey. Each is equipped with generators, submersible and centrifugal pumps, various types of hoses, cleanup tools, and other hardware. The trailers and equipment are valued at $12,420 each. Both types of trailers are funded by the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.