Who/What is CERT
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985. They recognized that citizens would very likely be on their own during the early stages of a catastrophic disaster. Accordingly, LAFD decided that some basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills would improve the ability of citiz
ens to survive and to safely help others until responders or other assistance could arrive. Building on this development, in 1994 the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all hazards and made the program available to communities nationwide. Since that time, thousands of dedicated trainers, organizations, and citizens have embraced the responsibility to learn new skills and become prepared to execute safe and effective emergency response. CERT falls under the Citizen Corps program and is a critical program in the effort to engage everyone in Box Elder County in making our community safer, more prepared, and more resilient when incidents occur. Effective response requires comprehensive planning and coordination of all who will be involved individuals, government, volunteer groups, private businesses, schools, and community organizations. With training and information, individuals and community groups can be prepared to serve as a crucial resource capable of performing many of the emergency functions needed in the immediate post-disaster period. The CERT Program is designed to train individuals to be assets to help communities prepare for effective disaster response. When Disaster Strikes
The damage caused by (1) natural disasters, such as earthquakes, extreme heat, flooding, mudslides, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions, wildfires, winter storms or from (2) technological events such as explosions or hazardous materials accidents (3) Intentional such as terrorism using chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive weapons can affect all aspects of a community, from government services to private enterprise to civic activities. These events:
Severely restrict or overwhelm our response resources, communications, transportation, and utilities Leave many individuals and neighborhoods cut off from outside support
Damaged roads and disrupted communications systems may restrict the access of emergency response agencies into critically affected areas. Thus, for the initial period immediately following a disaster often up to 4 days or longer individuals, households, neighborhoods, and workplaces may need to rely on their own resources for: Food, Water, First aid, and Shelter
Individual preparedness, planning, survival skills, and mutual aid within neighborhoods and worksites during this initial period are essential measures in coping with the aftermath of a disaster. What you do today will have a critical impact on the quality of your survival and your ability to help others safely and effectively. By learning about your community’s plans and protocols, understanding hazard-specific protective actions and response skills, assembling important emergency supplies, and mitigating potential hazards in your home, you will be more resilient to any disruptive event. You will be an important asset to your family, neighbors, and other members of your community. If available, emergency services personnel are the best trained and equipped to handle emergencies. Following a catastrophic disaster, however, you and the community will most likely be on your own for a period of time. Because emergency services personnel will not be able to help everyone immediately, you can make a difference by using your CERT training to save lives and protect property. While CERTs are a valuable asset in emergency response, CERTs are not trained to perform all of the functions or respond to the same degree as professional responders.
