CERT first responders bridge the gap

Sacrificing your life and time for another is the most sincere commitment of love and respect.

Nazir Sadack, team leader for the volunteer Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and chairman of the Tongaat CPF is no stranger to this, having started the search and rescue organisation after witnessing his wife experience a stroke.

He was unable to help her until paramedics arrived and it was aganising to watch her suffer as precious minutes slipped away.

The value of reacting quickly and effectively influenced Nazir to father and develop one of the most firm and reliable community-driven search and rescue organisations on the coast and beyond.

Always having a keen eye on personal security after founding R&S Safety, a local health and safety certification operation, Nazir had started a small neighbourhood watch in his community of Seatides in response to a string of hair-raising events in 2012.

Beginning with no more than a few able-bodied residents in reflective jackets, the former electronics expert and branch manager for an electronics company saw a critical gap in the response time where people would request medical help and watch the life of a loved one slip away before their eyes.

He certified as a basic life support (BSL) with level three first aid, as well as fire training and search and rescue.

Nazir quickly began making a difference, bridging the gap between the public and paramedics and police covering a wide area with members scattering the coastal region.

“The quicker you start assisting someone who needs medical attention, the more hope you give that person to survive,” said Sadack, who has responded to hundreds of scenes and witnessed first-hand how rapid response can save lives, which is also a product of team effort and collaboration with local medical rescue and police.

“We attended a scene at Westbrook beach some months ago where a male had collapsed and was unresponsive. Lifeguards had started CPR when we arrived, but after working together with a local paramedic and the lifeguards, we brought back a pulse and quickly transported the patient to hospital. We saved his life, and one life is worth every effort we make every day.”

CERT is a non-profit and volunteer-funded organisation. Sadack also works closely with Clinton Odayar of K9 search and rescue with Umhlali SAPS and drops everything at odd hours to be his right hand man.

“I responded last week at 4am to a situation where about 20 illegal miners were trapped in a mine in Pongola together with improvised explosives, only to return at 8pm. Sgt Clinton Odayar and I attended and after almost a full day working with other search and rescue teams, we managed to extract the miners who had suffered one casualty,” said Sadack.

Placing his life on the line to help others does not seem to faze the youthful gentleman who uses his own vehicles and equipment to respond to local accident scenes, halting bleeding and initiating CPR where necessary.

Nazir encourages anyone who is keen to join CERT to contact him.

“There is nothing that comes close to seeing the relief on a family member’s face when you have played a role in saving the life of someone they love and I give huge respect to the team for their commitment to CERT as well as the team effort that brought us this far,” said Sadack.

Contact CERT 24 hours a day at 084 963 4680. Contact Nazir at 063 050 8721 for more information.

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