CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for emergency personnel to train members of neighborhoods, community organizations, or workplaces in basic response skills. CERT members integrated into the emergency reponse capabilities of their communities.

If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community's professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.

CERT members maintain and refine their skills by participating in exercises and activities. They attend supplemental training opportunities offered by the sponsoring agency and others that further their skills base. Finally, CERT members can volunteer for projects to improve community emergency preparedness.

Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is an 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 situation.

CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. 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:

• Describe the types of hazards most likely to affect their homes and communities
• Describe the function of CERT and their roles in immediate response
• Take steps to prepare themselves for a disaster
• Identify and reduce potential fire hazards in their homes and workplaces
• Work as a team to apply basic fire suppression strategies, resources, and safety measures to extinguish a burning liquid
• Apply techniques for opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating shock
• Conduct triage under simulated conditions
• Perform head to toe assessments
• Select and set up a treatment area for wounded
• Employ basic treatments for various wounds
• Identify planning and size-up requirements for potential search and rescue situations
• Describe the most common techniques for search and rescue situations
• Use safe techniques for debris removal and victim extrication
• Describe ways to protect rescuers during search and rescue