CERT Program Overview
Overview
CERT was developed and implemented in 1985 by the Los Angeles City Fire Department. Its purpose was to train citizens to prepare for emergencies and assist traditional first responders during a major disaster. When emergency response resources are overwhelmed, people will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.
CERT is not meant to replace traditional first responders but to act as a supplement and assist them in major disasters when they may be overwhelmed or unable to respond due to communication, transportation or other issues (i.e. ice storm, flood, tornado).
The main idea of CERT is to first care for your family, then your neighbors, then your community, with safety as the priority. CERT members should never go beyond their level of training, which could put themselves and others at risk. CERT members are considered to be “Good Samaritans” and are covered under the Volunteer Protection Act.
Application
The Webster County CERT program invites participation from any community member who wants to be better prepared for hazards that threaten our community.
It educates people in 20 hours of classroom and hands on instruction about disaster preparedness and trains them to put out small fires, provide basic first aid, safely search for and rescue victims, and treat the three killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding and treating for shock. It trains them to organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers in order to assess a scene and collect disaster intelligence that will help traditional first responders prioritize services and allocate resources once they arrive.
Support
The program and its materials have been adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) and the National Fire Academy as applicable to all-hazards.
Benefit to Community
CERT teams are an investment of local government’s and a community’s time and resources. They are a volunteer resource that can assist in a variety of ways both in a disaster and in times of calm.
Programs across the nation have also evolved into an active corps of volunteers that assist their communities with projects such as installing smoke alarms, providing preparedness education, acting as victims during emergency response training exercises, and assisting with traffic control and other needs during special events like parades or annual festivals.