About CERTCommunity Emergency Response Team
CERT Mission & Responsibilities
- Neighbors helping neighbors
- Comprised entirely of volunteers
- Provide basic support following a disaster to stabilize the situation until emergency responders can arrive on scene
- Team members trained in basic disaster response skills
- Disaster Preparedness
- Team Organization
- Fire Suppression
- Medical Operations & Emergency First Aid
- Search & Rescue
- Disaster Psychology
- Provide resident education to mitigate injury and damage to the community
CERT History & Overview
- The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985.
- The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in California.
- Further, it confirmed the need for training civilians to meet their immediate needs.
- Since 1993 when this training was made available nationally by FEMA, communities in 28 states and Puerto Rico have conducted CERT training.
- FEMA supports CERT by conducting or sponsoring Train-the-Trainer and Program Manager courses for members of the fire, medical and emergency management community.
- There are over 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide, with more than 600,000 individuals trained since CERT became a national program.
- CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, which allows them to focus on more complex tasks.
Grand Haven CERT
- Grand Haven CERT currently has ~55 volunteers
- All members have completed the 6 FEMA CERT training classes
- Meet for a couple of hours every month during hurricane season and every other month during the rest of the year for:
- Team organizing
- Training
- Equipment checks
- Communications checks
- Conduct periodic simulated disaster drills
- Team members all have GMRS radios to communicate
- Grand Haven CERT always needs more Grand Haven residents to join the team