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The mission of the Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) is to provide the community with neighborhood based
teams of trained volunteers who can respond immediately to any major
disaster or emergency situation if professional first responders
(police and fire/EMS personnel) are not immediately available to
help.
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What is CERT?
CERT is a training program that prepares you to help
yourself, your family, and your neighbors in the event of a disaster.
During an incident, emergency services personnel may not be able to reach
everyone right away. By getting trained in CERT, you will have the skills
to help emergency responders save lives and protect property. As a member
of CERT team, you can respond to disasters, participate in drills and
exercises, and take additional training. CERT teams are known and trusted
resources that support emergency responders and their communities.
What do CERT teams do in an emergency?
Under the direction of local emergency responders, CERT
teams help provide critical support by giving immediate assistance to
victims, providing damage assessment information, and organizing other
volunteers at a disaster site. Volunteers trained in CERT also offer a
potential workforce for performing duties such as shelter support, crowd
control and evacuation. The role of a CERT volunteer is to help themselves
and to help others until trained emergency personnel arrive.
How does CERT help the community?
In addition to supporting emergency responders during
a disaster, the CERT program builds strong working relationships between
emergency responders and the people they serve. CERT teams also help the
community year-round by helping with community emergency plans, neighborhood
exercises, preparedness outreach, fire safety education, and workplace
safety.
The benefits of CERT training:
CERT training takes about 20 hours to complete and provides
critical skills in emergency preparedness and response.
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Participants learn how to:
- Identify and anticipate hazards
- Reduce fire hazards in the home and workplace
- Extinguish small fires
- Assist emergency responders
- Conduct light search and rescue
- Set up treatment areas
- Apply basic medical techniques
- Help reduce survivor stress
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Who should take CERT training?
- People interested in taking an active role in hometown
preparedness
- Neighborhood Watch groups
- Community leaders
- Parents
- Communities of faith
- Scouting and youth organizations
- Students, teachers, and administrators
- Members of clubs and civic organizations
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For additional information regarding the CERT program,
please refer to the links below:
Download
the CERT Brochure
Community
Emergency Response Team website: www.citizencorps.gov/cert
Volunteer Today:
Local CERT Contact Information
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