RSM CERT

05/24/2026

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1402517091911216&id=100064588154035&mibextid=wwXIfr

The City of Rancho Santa Margarita is closely monitoring the Garden Grove hazmat incident and remains mindful of the significant operational demands and risks Orange County Fire Authority personnel are currently facing.

The City of RSM has greatly benefited from the support of neighboring cities during past Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activations and wildfire emergencies, and we are grateful for the regional partnerships that strengthen emergency response efforts throughout Orange County.

In support of these mutual aid efforts, members of the RSM CERT team are deploying through the CERT Mutual Aid Program (CMAP) to assist the American Red Cross in supporting those impacted by the incident.

For official information and updates regarding the incident, please visit https://ocsheriff.gov/resources-during-disaster.

05/12/2026

On Saturday, May 9, our RSM CERT Academy 005 completed their final exam - a mock disaster exercise. The students were broken up into four teams with each team taking turns operating as search and rescue, cribbing, medical operations, and incident command. They applied everything they learned over the past seven weeks and were required to search for victims, free them from rubble, triage and transport to MedOps, all the while maintaining radio comms with Incident Command.

This class passed with flying colors! Congrats to RSM CERT Academy class 005!

05/01/2026

CERT academy 005 day 7: Disaster psychology and med-ops simulation drill. Tonight the students learned the basics of disaster psychology. Afterwards, they were ran through a simulated exercise where they broke up into teams, searched for victims, and then coordinated with incident command to transport back to med ops.

04/25/2026

CERT academy 005 day 6: Fire Safety

04/21/2026

Please join CERT and other RSM city and Orange County agencies for a Fire Safety & Preparedness community meeting on June 10th at the Bell Tower

04/18/2026

On Thursday, 4/16, RSM CERT member Len Malena represented our team at a CAR, (Community Associations of Rancho) and Firewise Community meeting to learn the latest info on Fire Insurance Issues and Fire Prevention best practices.

Representatives from Insurance Companies, OCFA, OCSD, CERT and Firewise USA were in attendance and available for Q & A after the presentations. Over 100 local residents were in attendance.

Great work representing RSM CERT Len!

04/18/2026

CERT academy 005 day 5: Med Ops 1.

In this session, our CERT students learned how to treat wounds, use a tourniquet, and stabilize broken bones. The evening finished off with students participating in a group exercise where they had to identify and stabilize mock “victims” and communicate info (CAN reports) back to incident command.

04/10/2026

CERT academy 005 day 4: Med Ops 2