The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office next month will begin offering Community Emergency Response Training.

The program was created to help people prepare for the worst, according to Deputy Travis Bruyer with the Community Resource Unit.

“This is going to be a neighbors-helping-neighbors kind of thing, for if people are cut off during disasters and are going to have to do some things on their own a bit,” Bruyer said. “We all agree it’s pretty important to get neighborhood preparedness going, and studies show groups who work together and do some kind of training do much better in the post-disaster period.”

The program will include guest speakers discussing topics such as disaster preparedness, fire suppression, floods, wildfires, 72-hour survival packs, the basics of search and rescue, and first aid/CPR training.

The first of the courses, run by the Sheriff’s Office in collaboration with volunteer fire departments, will be at the Marion Fire Department starting April 1. Classes will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. every Tuesday through the end of the month.

A course with the Creston Fire Department is tentatively scheduled for May, and a class with the Badrock Fire Department is scheduled for October.

Up to 25 people can sign up for each class.

Those interested in the Marion class can register by visiting www.flatheadcountysheriff.com, clicking the “Programs and Services” tab and then selecting Marion Community Emergency Response Training under “Public and Law Enforcement Training.”

For more information, contact Bruyer at 758-5602.

The emergency response training is a continuation of Sheriff’s Office community outreach efforts that include the Sheriff’s Citizens’ Academy and Community Watch programs.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.