Putnam County CERT to assist Greene County with Water distribution

Members of the Putnam County CERT will be on hand in Green County today to assist with bottled water distribution in Jasonville.

The Putnam County organization jumped in after the Green County Emergency Management Director reached out to Dave Costin, Putnam County EMA Director, requesting the assistance of Putnam County CERT to set up and manage a point of distribution to give water to the citizens of Green County following a fire at the Jasonville water plant. 

"We will deploy in the morning and work a 12 hour shift. We will have nine members of our team there to support it," said Chris Shafer, Chief Deputy of Putnam County CERT. 

The fire has left portions of Green County without water for a week, and while there are plans to get the water back in service, it is believed it will take several days. With that said, bottled water and hand sanitizer will be available to pick up. 

Shafer said the opportunity to help another county is the "best feeling."

"We supported damage assessment and volunteer management for the Sullivan tornado last year. We also helped Marion County when they needed parking/crowd support during a summer celebration. There very well may come a time when we need help one day, and we've found that volunteers and first responders will do extraordinary things for anyone who needs help, no matter where they may be. There are so many awesome people out there," Shafer said.