The Riverside County Fire Department/Office of Emergency Services (OES) is preparing communities for emergencies. Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical assistance will not be able to immediately meet all of the demands for their services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program provides for community self-sufficiency in order to meet the general public's urgent life saving and sustenance needs until emergency personnel arrive. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medial operations. Using their training, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event and can take a more active role in preparing their community.

Riverside County Program participants will receive a CERT Kit. These kits contain a green Riverside County CERT labeled backpack, green CERT labeled safety helmet, green CERT labeled vest along with other items to start buildin a response kit. Participant will also receive a training manual and official Certificate of Completion.

There are currently Fourteen (14) jurisdictions supporting CERT Programs within the County. They are: Riverside County, City of Beaumont, City of Corona, City of Hemet, City of Indio, City of La Quinta, City of Lake Elsinore, City of Moreno Valley, City of Murrieta, City of Palm Springs, City of Perris, City of Riverside, City of Temecula, and Idyllwild. Citizen Corps Councils have been established in the City of Temecula, City of Lake Elsinore and in the Jurupa Valley.

CERT TRAINING:

The CERT training is usually delivered over 3 consecutive days. The class time commitment is a total of 20 hours. The training consists of the following:

Module I, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Addresses hazards to which people are vulnerable in their community. Materials cover actions that participants and their families take before, during, and after a disaster.
Module II, DISASTER FIRE SUPPRESSION: Briefly covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards, and fire suppression strategies; the safe use of fire extinguishers, sizing up the situation, controlling utilities, and extinguishing a small fire.
Module III, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS PART I: Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding, and shock by using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques.
Module IV, DISASTER MEDICAL OPERATIONS, PART II: Covers evaluating patients by doing a head to toe assessment, establishing a medical treatment area, performing basic first aid, and practicing in a safe and sanitary manner.
Module V, LIGHT SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS: Participants learn about search and rescue planning, size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques, and most important, rescuer safety.
Module VI, DISASTER PSYCHOLOGY AND TEAM ORGANIZATION: Covers signs and symptoms that might be experienced by the disaster victim and worker. It addresses CERT organization and management principles and the need for documentation.
Module VII, COURSE REVIEW AND DISASTER SIMULATION: Participants review and practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six modules.

For additional or updated information about the Riverside County Cert Program contact: Riverside County Fire Department Office of Emergency Services at: 951.955.4700

                                                                            

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