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COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM
Sponsored by the Sacramento City Fire Department
have spent many hours training with the Sacramento Fire Dept to respond to an emergency in
their neighborhood, workplace or wherever the need may arise. The C.E.R.T. (community
emergency response team) volunteer program is part of the Citizen Corps program.
The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department
in 1985 after some devastating earthquakes in Japan, Mexico, and California. The goal was to
develop multi-functional volunteer response teams with the ability to perform basic fire
suppression, light search and rescue and first aid that would improve the ability of citizens to
survive until responders or other assistance could arrive. Several major earthquakes, and
major fires, in California have confirmed the need for training civilians to meet immediate
emergency needs.
In 1994 FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) felt that the concept and the
program should be made available to communities nationwide. FEMA in cooperation with the
LAFD expanded the CERT materials to make them applicable to all natural hazards. As a
result of September 11, 2001, CERT was selected as one of the primary programs of President
George W. Bush's new Citizen Corps. As of January 2004, 50 states, three territories, and six
foreign countries are using CERT training programs. It is anticipated that the CERT program
will continue to evolve into a fully integrated Fire Department volunteer force. In 2005 the
CERT program became part of the Department of Homeland Security.
The CERT Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact
their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills. Using the training learned in the
classroom and during exercises CERT members can assist others.
ACTIVITIES ARE ON THE
FUND RAISING PAGE
