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Sarasota County Emergency Management
is pleased to provide Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
training for our businesses, community groups and citizens of
Sarasota County. During the initial hours following the
disaster, emergency personnel are overloaded, unable to reach
areas or are short of personnel to respond. Others often have
had to pitch in to help persons in their immediate neighborhood.
CERT training gives you the decision-making and physical skills
to offer immediate assistance to family members, neighbors and
business associates in an efficient and effective manner without
placing yourself in unnecessary danger. You can make a
difference by using the training. This program is the Nationally
Accepted Federal Standard for community response team training.
Learn how to
help prevent disasters by using this interactive simulation.
Stop Disasters! Simulation
CERT Flyer
CERT Flyer (Two sided)
What We Need From You:
- your name
- mailing address
- daytime telephone number
- fax number
- e-mail address
- Total number of people to
receive training.
What Is The Process?
- Contact Sarasota County
Emergency Management via the information provided above.
- We will work with you to
develop a class schedule that suits the needs of your
neighborhood or business group.
- advanced planning is
required
Key Points To Remember:
- CERT Training is offered
free of charge within the jurisdiction served by Sarasota
County.
- Students must complete all
20 hours of course work and participate in the final “hands
on” exercise to become CERT certified.
- To host a class, you need
only provide an audience of 12 students.
- We welcome you to consider
neighborhood public schools, public auditoriums, community
buildings, houses of worship or any other facility that will
accommodate the anticipated participants in a classroom
setting
The Community Emergency Response
Team (CERT) concept was developed and implemented by the City of
Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985. They recognized that
citizens would very likely be on their own during the early
stages of a catastrophic disaster. Accordingly, LAFD decided
that some basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills
would improve the ability of citizens to survive until first
responders or other assistance could arrive.
The training program that the
LAFD initiated proved to be so beneficial that the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) felt that the concept and the
program should be made available to communities nationwide. In
1994, the Emergency Management Institute (EMI), in cooperation
with the LAFD, expanded the CERT materials to make them
applicable to all hazards.
In 2003, President Bush asked all
Americans to volunteer in the service of their country. The
Citizen Corps program was created to spearhead this effort to
harness the power of every individual through education,
training, and volunteer service to make communities safer,
stronger, and better prepared to respond to the threats of
terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all
kinds. CERT was selected as one of the primary programs offered
to the American public to meet this challenge.
Sarasota County Emergency
Management Division’s CERT Program was developed to support our
community in this effort. Hurricane Charley taught us how
important preparedness and response are to surviving a disaster.
Empowered by this unique training, people from community
organizations, businesses industry, schools and city and county
employees can assemble as a CERT, or perform as individual
leaders in the initial phase of a disaster.
As of October 2004, Sarasota
County has CERT certified over 425 Sarasota community volunteers
including teams from:
- The Meadows
- New Town Front Porch
Association
- Hyatt
- Sarasota Military Academy
- Longboat Key
This successful program continues
to evolve and expand.
The benefits of this program are
numerous. CERT has increased the overall level of public
disaster readiness in Sarasota County, provided emergency skills
that people may use in day-to-day emergencies, enhanced the bond
between government and populace, and increased community spirit.
The course consists of 20 hours,
with major emphasis given to hands-on training. The curriculum
consists of the following:
UNIT 1 Disaster
preparedness
- Disaster preparedness /
recent disasters
- Hazard mitigation
UNIT 2 Fire safety
- Fire chemistry
- Fire fighting resources /
fire suppression safety
- Reducing hazards in the home
and workplace
- Hazardous material
UNIT 3 Disaster medical
operations 1
- Recognizing and treating
life-threatening conditions
- Triage
UNIT 4 Disaster medical
operations 2
- Functions of disaster
medical operations
- Establishing treatment areas
- Treating wounds, burns, etc.
UNIT 5 Light search and
rescue operations
- Search and rescue size-up
- Conducting search operations
- Conducting rescue operations
UNIT 6 CERT Organization
- CERT organization, decision
making and documentation
UNIT 7 Disaster psychology
- Team well being
- Working with survivors
trauma
UNIT 8 Terrorism and CERT
- What is terrorism?
- Terrorist targets
- B-NICE indicators
- CERTS and terrorist
incidents
UNIT 9 Course review and
disaster simulation
- Course review
- Disaster simulation
A refresher and recertification
class is held annually by Sarasota County Emergency Management
for all CERT certified members, giving CERT members a chance to
maintain and sharpen their skills. |
