Town of Canton, CT CERT Team

06/15/2026

05/30/2026

The American Red Cross Connecticut has issued an appeal for urgent blood donations.

The American Red Cross has an urgent need for donors and is counting on people to act now and book a time to give lifesaving blood or platelets. Scheduled donations, which account for 90% of all blood donations, have dropped sharply in recent weeks. As a result, the blood supply has fallen by several thousand units in just a week, raising concerns that the decline could worsen as we enter trauma season.

A sharp drop in scheduled donations is especially troubling now, during a season when blood collection can be difficult due to end of the school-year activities, travel and school breaks, as well as severe weather and heat that can disrupt blood drives entirely

Securing appointments in the coming weeks is critical to maintaining a healthy blood supply for all patients depending on transfusions. Make an appointment to give now by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.

05/27/2026

Official hurricane season starts in just a few days. An important reminder on emergency preparedness from Ready

Hurricane season is here, don’t wait for a storm to hit! Hurricanes aren’t just a coastal problem, storms can affect states far inland, know your risk & prep now. Make an emergency plan & know what to do if you need to leave quickly! More tips ⤵️
ready.gov/hurricanes

05/27/2026

As summer approaches, an important reminder from the folks at Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA).

Do you know the signs of heat-related illness? This Heat Awareness Day, take a few moments to learn the symptoms, so that you can keep yourself safe and be prepared to help someone in need during the hot days coming this summer.

Learn more: https://tinyurl.com/mema26heat

05/22/2026

The Canton CERT Team will be providing traffic support for this event.

2026 MEMORIAL DAY PARADE

The Town of Canton Memorial Day Parade will step off at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 25, 2026.

The parade route will begin at Canton Intermediate School (Dyer Avenue) and conclude with a Memorial Service at the Village Cemetery on Huckleberry Hill Road.

🚧 Traffic Advisory:
If you plan to travel through the area between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM, please expect road closures, detours, and traffic delays.

🚫 Parking Notice:
No parking will be permitted on Main Street beginning at 11:00 PM on Sunday, May 24, through 1:00 PM on Monday, May 25.

🅿️ Alternative Parking:
The Town Hall parking lot will be available for public use during these times.

📞 Questions?
Please contact the Canton Police Department at 860-693-0221 with any questions or concerns regarding this parking notice.

Please plan ahead, allow extra travel time, and join us as we honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.

05/21/2026

The hurricane forecasts from NOAA and Colorado State University are predicting a below-average season this year, primarily due to expectations for a strong (“super”) El Nino pattern by late summer. While the West Coast may experience above average, the East Coast is expected to be lower than average due to increased wind-shear from this condition.

However, “it-only-takes-one” to create a disaster, so stay informed and watch for hurricane advisories during this hurricane season.

05/19/2026

An important reminder from Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and US National Weather Service Boston MA about early season heat waves. Be sure to stay cool and hydrated!

Temperatures on Tuesday will be well above normal for mid May, in the mid to upper 90s. While a bit cooler on Wednesday, it will still be very hot with real relief not expected until Thursday.

05/17/2026

For CT CERT members (especially those closer to the border with MA or RI) who are interested in FEMA certified advance training, the Northeast Emergency Management Training & Education Center (NEMTEC, a cooperative effort supported by all of the New England State Training Officers) provides a current, relevant and comprehensive training and education program across New England. This effort is led by the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and New England State Directors.

Some of NEMTEC’s (free) offerings can be seen on this course catalogue listing:
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/northeast-emergency-management-training-education-center-course-catalog

NEMTEC is offering ICS-300 (“Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents”) and G-0191 (“ICS/EOC Interface”) for the Western MA region in August.

Specifically, ICS-300 will be presented on Aug 3, 4 and 5 from 8:30am to 4:30pm in Deerfield, MA and G-0191 will be presented on Aug 19th from 8:30am to 4:30pm, also in Deerfield, MA. There also are courses being offered in Eastern MA and RI.

Both of the above classes are priority seating courses and pre-registration is required which can be accessed via this portal:
https://public.eopsselearning.com/login/index.php

05/16/2026

A member of Canton CERT participated as an “actor” (evacuee) in the Windham Rehearsal and Evaluated Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) Exercise that was held today on May 16th at Windham High School (with the town of Windham acting as a “host” community in the event of evacuation of residents from ten towns located in the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) for Millstone Power Station).

This exercise was coordinated by the Connecticut Division Emergency Management & Homeland Security Radiological Preparedness Unit in collaboration with various other state and federal agencies, including FEMA. Also present were emergency response personnel from the Windham area and several surrounding towns acting in mutual aid.

The purpose of the REP program is to develop and exercise methods and plans in order to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from incidents involving commercial nuclear power plants.

About 12 CERT members from around the State of Connecticut volunteered to assist as actors for this exercise. Each actor was given an evacuee “profile” (an exercise Inject) that described the physical and mental condition of such evacuee (e.g., level of radiological exposure to their vehicle and themselves, along with information on other health, access or functional needs, etc.) upon arriving at the host community reception area.

Each CERT volunteer went through the process several times with different evacuee profiles, so that multiple Inject variables could be tested. The following CERT teams were represented:
• Newington CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
• East Windsor
• Fairfield CERT
• CERT West Hartford CT
• East Hartford CERT
• Canton
• New Milford CERT

There will be another REP Exercise for the Windham host community on June 27th from 8:00am to 2:00pm and CERT members can register to participate as actors by visiting this Registration Link (deadline for registration is June 12th):
https://forms.office.com/g/puLmaSmCWf

This was an excellent exercise and was a very informative and beneficial experience – even if your CERT team is not located in the Emergency Planning Zone or is not designated as a host community. We highly recommend you consider volunteering to participate!