Community Emergency Response Team Basic Training Instructor Guide

by U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency

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 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.

520 pages, Paperback

First published September 26, 2013

About the author

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a cabinet department of the U.S. federal government with responsibilities in public security, particularly anti-terrorism, border security, immigration and customs, cyber security, and disaster prevention and management. Major subordinate agencies include Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Secret Service, Coast Guard, and Transportation Security Administration (TSA), among others.