Trained civilians supplementing professionals
CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) is a FEMA-supported program that trains civilians in basic disaster response. CERT volunteers supplement professional responders when demand exceeds capacity, which happens in every major disaster.
Training is typically free, takes about 20 hours over several weeks, and is offered by local fire departments and emergency management offices. No prior experience is needed.
Practical, not theoretical
CERT training covers: fire safety and suppression with portable extinguishers, light search and rescue (how to safely search a building after an earthquake), medical triage (START system for sorting casualties by severity), disaster psychology, and team organization.
The training is hands-on. You practice with real extinguishers, real cribbing for lifting debris, and real triage scenarios.
The gap between event and response
In the first hours after a major disaster, professional emergency services are overwhelmed. The gap between the event and organized professional response can be hours or days. CERT-trained neighbors fill that gap with basic competency: they know how to suppress small fires, triage injuries, and organize a search without causing additional harm.
- Free, ~20 hours of training from local fire/EMS
- Covers fire suppression, search and rescue, medical triage, team organization
- Hands-on practice with real equipment
- No prior experience required
- Find your local program at ready.gov/cert
- CERT — FEMA Community Emergency Response Teams program.