In a major disaster professional first responders may not always be able to respond to the need for their services. There are several reasons why.

One, there may be heavy damage to the road systems from the event.

Two, there may be an overload of calls to the 911 center.

Three, there may be widespread injuries creating a shortage of trained personnel. In these or other instances it only makes sense that neighbors will have to rely on one another for help.

The Community Emergency Response Team training is a 24 hour course where you can learn the basics of decision making skills, team organization, rescuer safety, disaster medical assistance, fire suppression, and light search and rescue. This training prepares you to help your community in an immediate and responsible way.

The CERT course will help any citizen who takes it. They will better understand the psychological and physiological responses to a disaster, and steps they can take to help themselves and their community before, during, and after a disaster. This type of community action could mean the difference between an effective response to a disaster and a tragedy affecting you and your neighbors. This class is not intended to make you a professional fire fighter or EMT. It is designed to allow a community to be proactive in disaster response until those professionals can get to your area. A neighborhood, church, community group, or business could enhance their response capability, by attending training and forming “auxiliary” teams trained and ready to assist victims, organize untrained volunteers, or collect disaster intelligence that will allow professional responders to allocate and prioritize their mission effectively.

CERT can be organized and taught in any manner, but 24 hours is a minimum commitment. The classes are as follows:

Disaster Preparedness- Addresses likely hazards in your community, shows you how to help mitigate disasters in your own home by taking common sense action around your home before a disaster. This type of preparedness allows you to more effectively assist your area in times of a disaster.

Disaster Psychology- Covers signs and symptoms of problems experienced by both the disaster victim and the worker in times of a disaster.

Team Organization- Shows how to organize and manage a CERT for maximum effectiveness.

Disaster Medical Operations I & II – How to diagnose and treat airway, breathing, and circulation problems, treat shock, perform a head to toe evaluation, perform rapid treatment techniques, perform basic first aid, perform triage, and establish a safe and sanitary medical treatment area.

Fire Suppression- Briefly covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards, fire size up, and suppression strategies, as well as the proper use of a fire extinguisher and controlling a small fire.

Light Search and Rescue Operations- Participants will learn search and rescue planning, size-up, search tactics, and rescuer safety during a search.

Terrorism and CERT- You will learn the basic concepts of how CERT personnel can respond to a terrorist event.