Growing animal rescue group to have training in Ahwahnee

The Central California Animal Disaster Team (CCADT) will hold a recruitment and team training on Saturday, April 25, at the Eastern Madera County SPCA from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This year marks the first time the CCADT training has been held at the EMC SPCA which is located at 43180 Highway 49 in Ahwahnee.

Registration is open now at www.ccadt.org

Volunteers are always needed to assist with animal evacuation and emergency sheltering, the organization said.

Due to the amount of time invested in training that strives to meet FEMA standards, this will be the only training event for new volunteers offered this year in the northern counties that CCADT serves – including Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Merced and Kings.

Afterward, continuing education is scheduled throughout the year. A training will be held in Ridgecrest in Kern County in May.

Over the past years as wildfires have become more prevalent throughout California, CCADT responded to the Oak Fire in Mariposa County and the Fork Fire in Madera County along with many others.

Hundreds of animals were evacuated and provided a safe haven until evacuation orders were lifted and pet owners were able to return home.

“CCADT has helped save thousands of animals, primarily during wildfire seasons,” said Naomi E. Tobias, the organization’s founder and CEO.

The nonprofit offers recruitment and training every year, but urgency continues to build for the vital organization that is 100 percent volunteer operated.

The CCADT helps emergency responders with caring for displaced companion pets, including small and large animals, livestock and equine, during disasters. CCADT also provides educational resources to the public on disaster preparedness for animals.

Assisting county and city offices of emergency services, animal control officers, American Red Cross, police, sheriff’s and fire departments, the team works only by request of an agency and is never self-deployed.

They are sometimes called on to help at local animal shelters when increased volunteer capacity is needed in animal cruelty or neglect cases.

The intensive volunteer orientation and training program this month will teach the basic skills needed to evacuate and/ or shelter animals during disasters and expedite training to become responder-ready for the upcoming fire season.

The training is free.

CCADT is now in its 13th year of service to the Central Valley with Naomi Tobias at the helm. She saw a need and set about to fill it, creating a dynamic network that has grown exponentially in the decade since and remains volunteer supported.

“Our first wildfire we responded to was the 2013 Carstens Fire in Mariposa,” Tobias reflected. “We are proud of this achievement and look forward to many more years of service.”

Tobias said the need for more volunteers is greater than ever.

“During fire season we need more volunteers because the duration of time the shelters are open seem to be longer and it takes longer for people to be able to get back home.”

CCADT has also, in recent years, been responding to fires outside of the Central Valley.

Some of the new training will include more classes on building evacuation teams and focusing on care for animals left behind in evacuated areas, safe but not in shelters.

“We still need to take care of them,” shared Tobias, a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member in Fresno before branching into disaster preparedness for animals in 2007.

CCADT currently follows Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines and collaborates with the University of California at Davis, following the passage of a state bill last year (SB 547), providing funds for volunteer organizations to institute standardized training.

CCADT works with the Cal Vet Emergency Team program at UC Davis, Cal OES and in collaboration with the California Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees all animals during disasters.

In the training, volunteers will become familiar with the group’s policies and reasons behind them, learn about the incident command system and about personal safety if they do field response. The course will include instruction on the safe handling of small animals and the basics of animal evacuation and shelter in place care.

Guest speakers may include representatives from local law enforcement, animal shelters and communications experts.

Anyone 18 or older is invited to attend. CCADT is supported by donations, grants and agencies including local law enforcement, county governments, CAL FIRE and the American Red Cross.

“Our mission is to save animals during disasters,” Tobias concluded, “but we know saving animals also saves human lives — because people will stay behind otherwise. We always say we are here to save all of the family.”

For more information and to register, call (559) 433-WOOF (9663) or visit ccadt.org