WHAT IS CERT?

The Community Emergency Response Team ( CERT ) training is part of the Citizen Corps program.  While people will respond to others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger.  In the CERT training, citizens learn to:

HOW DID CERT START?

1985:

The idea to train volunteers from the community to assist emergency service personnel during large natural disasters began in February 1985.  A group of Los Angeles City officials went to Japan to study its extensive earthquake preparedness plans. The group encountered an extremely homogenous society that had taken extensive steps to train entire neighborhoods in one aspect of alleviating the potential devastation that would follow a major earthquake. These single-function neighborhood teams were trained in fire suppression, light search and rescue operations, first aid, and/or evacuation.

In September of 1985, a Los Angeles City investigation team was sent to Mexico City following an earthquake.  The earthquake registered a magnitude 8.1 on the Richter scale, killed more than 10,000 people, and injured more than 30,000.  Mexico City had no training program for citizens prior to the disaster.  However, large groups of volunteers organized themselves and performed light search and rescue operations. Volunteers are credited with more than 800 successful rescues; unfortunately, more than 100 of these untrained volunteers died during the 15-day rescue operation.

The lessons learned in Mexico City strongly indicated that a plan to train volunteers to help themselves and others and become an adjunct to government response was needed as an essential part of overall preparedness, survival, and recovery.

1986:

The City of Los Angeles Fire Department developed a pilot program to train a group of leaders in a neighborhood watch organization. A concept developed involving multi-functional volunteer response teams with the ability to perform basic fire suppression, light search and rescue, and first aid. This first team of 30 people completed training in early 1986 and proved that the concept was viable through various drills, demonstrations, and exercises. Expansion of the program, however, was not feasible due to limited City resources, until an event occurred in 1987 that affected the entire area.

1987:

On October 1, 1987 , the Whittier Narrows earthquake vividly underscored the threat of an area-wide major disaster and demonstrated the need to expedite the training of civilians to prepare for earthquakes and other emergencies.

Following the Whittier Narrows earthquake, the City of Los Angeles took an aggressive role in protecting the citizens of Los Angeles by creating the Disaster Preparedness Division (now the Disaster Preparedness Section) within the Los Angeles Fire Department. Their objectives included:

1993:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided to make the concept and program available to communities nationwide.  The Emergency Management Institute (EMI), in cooperation with the LAFD, expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all hazards.

2002:

In January 2002, CERT became part of the Citizen Corps program, a unifying structure to link a variety of related volunteer activities to expand a community's resources for crime prevention and emergency response.

WHY PARTICIPATE IN THE CERT TRAINING?

Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, there can be an emergency or disaster that can overwhelm the community's immediate response capability. While adjacent jurisdictions, State, and Federal resources can activate to help, there may be a delay for them getting to those who need them.  The CERT program is all-risk, all-hazard training. This valuable course is designed to help you protect yourself, your family, your neighbors and your neighborhood in an emergency.

HOW DO I JOIN?

 The Rio Grande Council of Governments administers the CERT program.  The first step in joining CERT is forming a group.  Once your group is formed, group members will receive 20 hours of CERT training. After group members complete the training, they will receive a certificate of completion and a CERT kit.

CERT is provided free of charge within the following counties: Brewster, Culberson, El Paso , Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and Presidio County .

To register your group for a CERT training session, contact Sandra Hernandez at 915-533-0998 ext. 166 or by e-mail at sandrah@riocog.org.

The West Texas CERT only conducts non-discriminatory classes.  Non-discrimination includes race, religion, gender, and group affiliations.

WEST TEXAS MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS

The West Texas Medical Reserve Corps is part of the Citizen Corps program.  Please visit their web site for more information, http://www.westtexasmrc.org/.