Course OverviewThe Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates individuals about disaster preparedness and trains and organizes teams of volunteers that can support their communities during disasters. The CERT Program offers training in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. With proper CERT training, you can help protect your family, neighbors, and co-workers if a disaster occurs."Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)," IS-317, is an independent study course that serves as an introduction to CERT for those interested in completing the basic CERT training or as a refresher for current team members. The course includes six modules: CERT Basics, Fire Safety, Hazardous Material and Terrorist Incidents, Disaster Medical Operations, and Search and Rescue, and Course Summary.While IS-317 is useful as a primer or refresher for CERT training, it is not equivalent to, and cannot be used in place of, the classroom delivery of the CERT Basic Training. To become a CERT volunteer, one must complete the classroom training offered by a local government agency such as the emergency management agency, fire or police department. Contact your local emergency manager to learn about the local education and training opportunities available to you. Let this person know about your interest in taking CERT training.Course Objectives:After completing this course, CERT Independent Study (IS)-317, you should be able to: *Identify key concepts that form the foundation for CERT operations*Identify principles and guidelines for CERT activitiesThis lesson provides an overview of the CERT role in disaster preparedness and response. It also covers what you will learn in other lessons about CERT organization and activities

Hospital Emergency Response Teams aims to provide authoritative training for hospital personnel in the emergency department, as well community-level medical service personnel, assisting them in times of disaster and emergency. Comprised of six chapters, the book covers various aspects of emergency response. Some of the aspects are the National Incident Management System (NIMS) implementation activities for hospitals and health care systems and the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) IV missions. The book also explains the implementation issues, requirements, and timelines in establishing an internal HICS IV program. It presents the assessment of likely mass casualty events and potential hospital impact. The book also features appendices for emergency response team checklists, PPE donning and doffing guide, ambulatory and non-ambulatory decontamination setup, ETA exercises, and ETA drills.The book is intended to provide understanding of emergency response to first emergency medicine professionals, first responders, security staff, community-level disaster planners, and public health and disaster management researchers. Common sense approach shows what really works, not what is theoretically achievable Forms, checklists, and guidelines can be used to develop concrete response plans, validate existing operations, or simply expand knowledge base The latest from OSHA, Joint Commission and NIMS (National Incident Management System) Cross-disciplinary author team ensures material is appropriate for all member of this important collaboration

CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is a critical program in the effort to engage everyone in America in making their communities safer, more prepared, and more resilient when incidents occur. Community-based preparedness planning allows us all to prepare for and respond to anticipated disruptions and potential hazards following a disaster. As individuals, we can prepare our homes and families to cope during that critical period. Through pre-event planning, neighborhoods and worksites can also work together to help reduce injuries, loss of lives, and property damage. Neighborhood preparedness will enhance the ability of individuals and neighborhoods to reduce their emergency needs and to manage their existing resources until professional assistance becomes available. Studies of behavior following disasters have shown that groups working together in the disaster period perform more effectively if there has been prior planning and training for disaster response. These studies also show that organized grassroots efforts may be more successful if they are woven into the social and political fabric of the community-- neighborhood associations, schools, workplaces, places of worship, and other existing organizations. Effective response therefore requires comprehensive planning and coordination of all who will be involved--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. Audience: Effective response therefore requires comprehensive planning and coordination of all who will be involved--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. Related items: Companion to CERT Basic Training Instructor's Guide that can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/027-002-00628-3 Emergency Management & First Responders publications can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/security-defense-law-enforcement/emergency-management-first-responders

In 2003 the Minneapolis Fire Department implemented a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program that also included the creation of a Citizen Corps Council for the City of Minneapolis. This research project evaluates the feasibility of training citizen in the City of Minneapolis to assist in disaster recovery.

Instructor Guide for the FEMA course to become a CERT team member. It contains the same information as the pdf which can be downloaded from FEMA.gov at no cost. This book contains additional helpful tabs and pages for notes.

Community emergency response teams (CERTs) have the ability to enhance the response capacity of a community. There is, however, limited research on the characteristics and effectiveness of CERTs and how citizens can partner with professional responders in a collaborative emergency management approach that includes an organized CERT. This qualitative case study of a Texas CERT, that has a distinct way of augmenting the mission of the local police department, asks how the coordinator, members, and liaisons of the CERT describe their personal experiences regarding their involvement with the team. In addition, this study examined what lessons can be learned from the way this unique Texas CERT approaches disaster preparedness, response, mitigation, and recovery. Collaborative emergency management theory provided the conceptual framework for this case study. In-depth one-on-one interviews were conducted with six citizen responders and three professional responders who provided rich, thick detailed answers to the interview questions. Data were also mined from 23 historical and foundational documents. A list of 35 recurring categories was generated from a general inductive analysis of the data, which was then synthesized and further refined until six major study themes emerged: (a) Collaborative, (b) Supportive, (c) Adaptable, (d) Dedicated, (e) Trained, and (f) Organized. These lessons learned provided valuable insights and a depth of understanding about the collaborative efforts of the Texas CERT and how adapting a CERT program to fit the individual needs of a community is a viable option.

Following the events of September 11, 2001, Citizen Corps was launched as a grassroots strategy to strengthen community safety and preparedness through increased civic participation. Since then, the importance of preparedness education, training, and involving the whole community has become increasingly recognized as critical to successful community preparedness and resilience. Citizen Corps is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, within the Department of Homeland Security, but is implemented locally. Communities across the country have created Citizen Corps Councils as effective partnerships between government and community leaders to focus on the following objectives: engaging the whole community in collaborative community planning and capacity building; integration of community resources; outreach and localized preparedness education and training; emergency communications to all population segments; drills and exercises; and, volunteer programs. CERT is a critical program in the effort to engage everyone in America in making their communities safer, more prepared, and more resilient when incidents occur. Community-based preparedness planning allows us all to prepare for and respond to anticipated disruptions and potential hazards following a disaster. As individuals, we can prepare our homes and families to cope during that critical period. Through pre-event planning, neighborhoods and worksites can also work together to help reduce injuries, loss of lives, and property damage. Neighborhood preparedness will enhance the ability of individuals and neighborhoods to reduce their emergency needs and to manage their existing resources until professional assistance becomes available. Studies of behavior following disasters have shown that groups working together in the disaster period perform more effectively if there has been prior planning and training for disaster response. These studies also show that organized grassroots efforts may be more successful if they are woven into the social and political fabric of the community-neighborhood associations, schools, workplaces, places of worship, and other existing organizations. Effective response therefore requires comprehensive planning and coordination of all who will be involved-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. The purpose of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training is to provide the individuals who complete this course with the basic skills that they will need to respond to their community's immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster, when emergency services are not immediately available. By working together, CERT members can assist in saving lives and protecting property using the basic techniques in this course. The target audience for this course is individuals who desire the skills and knowledge required to prepare for and respond to a disaster.