County leader is making sure we're ready for anything
Homeland security begins at home. That's the mantra of Mark Rosenblum.
He's the new chairman of the St. Charles County Citizen Corps Council and has been working hard to beef up the citizen response to emergencies since he took office in January.
"It's something I'm very passionate about," he said. "It scares me to death that some are trusting the national government to do everything.
"Rosenblum, 45, has a good reason for his strong feelings. He was a supervisor for Savvis Communications on Sept. 11, 2001. He had taken the day off because his daughter, Emily, was sick. They were spending the day at home, which was in Hazelwood at the time.
He got a phone call that morning from a relative asking him what he thought about what was going on in New York. When he clicked on the television, he saw that a plane had crashed into the first tower. Besides the shock of what he saw, Rosenblum was thinking of something else: 10 of his employees were working in the other tower.
He got a phone call that morning from a relative asking him what he thought about what was going on in New York. When he clicked on the television, he saw that a plane had crashed into the first tower. Besides the shock of what he saw, Rosenblum was thinking of something else: 10 of his employees were working in the other tower.
"I immediately called my people, and I said, 'Look, I don't know what's going on, but I think that tower could possibly fall over and hit your tower. You guys might want to get out of there,'" he said.
A few minutes later, a plane crashed into the second tower, but every one of his employees got out safely.
As he continued to watch the coverage of the disaster, he heard that all airline flights had been grounded, and he started to think about the travelers who were stranded at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
He called Lambert and offered his home to anyone who needed a place to stay, but he didn't know what more he could do to help.
Rosenblum said he had worked with his father as a volunteer for the Red Cross several times, but Sept. 11 changed him.
"I knew I had to do something more," he said.
When he and his family moved to Wentzville in 2003, he contacted the emergency management director and helped start that city's Citizen Emergency Response Team, or CERT.
Its members go through an initial 20-hour training course and refresher courses every quarter. They provide support to police, fire and ambulance personnel, assist victims and organize volunteers at a disaster site.
In 2007, the cities united into a countywide effort, which Rosenblum now leads.
About 500 residents in St. Charles County have been trained to respond to everything from heat waves to terrorist attacks. Rosenblum is hoping to build those ranks with anyone who wants to participate.
Although the Citizen Emergency team gets most of the publicity, Rosenblum said other opportunities exist. Those include USAonWatch, an expanded version of the neighborhood watch program, and Volunteers in Police Service and Fire Corps, which allows citizens to assist police and firefighters in nonoperational roles. Another program is the Medical Reserve Corps, where citizens assist doctors and nurses in large-scale emergency situations.
"Anything that's going to help the citizens to be better prepared, that's my goal," Rosenblum said.
He said he is taking the program forward by forming partnerships with other agencies, such as the Red Cross, which can help Citizen Corps members get CPR training. The group also is teaming with places such as the Crider Center, which can assist with psychological wellness in a disaster, and Sts. Joachim and Ann, which can help with things such as housing and clothing.
In addition, he is training teams of teenagers and soon will have the first team in the state made up of hearing- and sight-impaired volunteers. Both will be needed in an emergency, he said.
"This is what I think the Citizen Corps was meant to be — a network of all these people so that we can pull on each other's strengths," Rosenblum said.
Mike Hays, who is vice chairman of the corps, said the group has made great strides already under Rosenblum's leadership.
"Mark energizes programs through his positive nature," he said. "His sense of public involvement drives people to want to help and get behind a project and work together."
Volunteer Doris Clark described Rosenblum as "unbelievably wonderful" and said that, like Rosenblum, it is in her nature to get involved. "We need to be concerned for our neighbor, and we need to reach out that helping hand when it's needed," she said.
To learn more, contact the Division of Emergency Management at 636-949-3023 or the Red Cross at 636-397-1074.
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