This is for any of your readers, who have sat along the Duvall and/or Carnation parade routes one or more of these last four years, noticed the Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps’ green CERT banner go by and wondered what “Community Emergency Response Team” was all about.

There was an accident involving several vehicles on Highway 522 during the early afternoon of June 5, 2006. Five cars back from the accident was Duvall resident and housing contractor Mark Smith. You may remember him as a former Duvall City Councilmember.

Mark had been trained in 2003 by Carnation-Duvall Citizen Corps Council (CDCCC) as a CERT member and now keeps his skills sharp by participating in the Council’s annual CERT drills held at Tolt-MacDonald Park.

Mark related his story to the CDCCC board the next day in his own words, “I was heading to Monroe yesterday around one p.m. when the accident happened about five cars ahead. I had the terrible task of using the triage skills we have learned. I have always questioned how well the training would help and how the first responders would accept us when things went south. Now at least for myself, on this occasion there was no hesitation: assess dangers, identify victims, 1 black, 3 red, 2 yellow (indicating severity of injury) and render aid till pros arrived. When the pros arrived, they accepted the information and acted on it. Other off-duty first responders arrived after a short time as well.

“Thank you for the training you have all provided me, it kicked in and worked. The only thing missing was how to get a night’s sleep afterward.”

Thank you, Mark.