Community Emergency Response Training – Blue Hills & Wheeland

Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands, 13^th April 2026 — The Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME), in collaboration with the TCI Red Cross, facilitated a six-day Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training for residents of the Blue Hills and Wheeland communities from March 17–20 and 23–25, 2026.

The CERT training sought to equip everyday residents with essential skills to respond effectively to minor emergencies within their communities. Key areas of focus included; Incident Command, Search and Rescue (SAR), Disaster Medical Operations, Fire Safety and Response, and Initial Damage Assessment.

A total of 17 residents from Blue Hills and Wheeland are now CERT-certified and prepared to support their communities during emergencies; providing assistance ranging from basic disaster response to critical emergency support.

Facilitators for the training included Ms. Candianne Williams, Director and Mr. Andrew Gardiner DRR Manager from the TCI Red Cross; Mr. Aubrey Felix and Mr. Roosevelt Glinton from the TCI Fire and Rescue Service and Mr. Mike Clerveaux Director of the Housing Department and CERT Instructor. Facilitators from DDME included Ms. Tamara Hylton, Training and Education Manager; Mr. Angelo Duncan, Hazard Mitigation and GIS Manager and Mrs. Patrina Pollard-Harris Training and Education Officer.

Hon. Kyle Knowles, Minister of Health and Human Services and Member of Parliament for Wheeland and Hon. Randy Howell, Member of Parliament for Blue Hills; provided invaluable support to the training and were also present to demonstrate commitment to their respective communities.

Ms. Candianne Williams, commented on the collaboration, stating: “The TCI Red Cross is pleased to have worked alongside DDME to deliver CERT training for the Blue Hills and Wheeland communities. This programme strengthens local readiness and we commend the participants for stepping forward to support their neighbourhoods.”

Praising the success of the training, Mr. Tito Lightbourne, Permanent Secretary for National Security with responsibility for DDME, stated “I would like to emphasize that this Community Emergency Response Training marks the first of many more to come over the course of the year.   I look forward to supporting its expansion into additional communities across the Turks and Caicos Islands and extend my sincere thanks to the collaboration between DDME and the TCI Red Cross and to all facilitators and participants who helped to make this inaugural session a success.”

DDME and the TCI Red Cross thanks all participants for volunteering to be part of this dynamic training and for their shared commitment towards building safer, stronger communities. Through this continued collaboration, both organizations look forward to expanding CERT training programmes to more communities across the Turks and Caicos Islands.