San Juan Islands
Community Emergency Response Team

Our remote location will require us to provide mutual aid while awaiting assistance. This training will help you take care of yourself, your family, your neighbors and your community.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, which allows them to focus on more complex tasks. Through CERT, the ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters is built and enhanced.

The CERT program was designed and structured so that the local and state program managers have the flexibility to form their programs in the way that best suits their communities. CERT volunteers are trained to respond safely, responsibly and effectively to emergency situations, but they can also support their communities during non-emergency events as well. There are more than 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide, and more than 600,000 individuals have been trained since CERT became a national program.

Take a CERT Class

San Juan Islands Prepare is offering CERT classes to all residents of San Juan County (Full-Time and Part-Time). Our first class is Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4-5 and consist of 20 hours of training. You may take this class as many times as you desire, as we want you to feel comfortable with the knowledge we are sharing.

To assure that we have access to CERT Training in the future, we are offering a “Train the Trainer” class October 6-7-8. We already have two firefighters’ from Lopez who are interested in this class. People working as first responders are encouraged to apply, as well as teachers (as we hope to have CERT Teens added to curriculum for community service.) Please send an email to learn more about the Train the Trainer course.

Class Information

When: This is an accelerated class held on three consecutive days. The course is free of charge.

  • 5 PM-8:30 PM on a Friday – Orientation and Introduction
  • 9 AM to 5 PM on a Saturday – Classroom and hands-on
  • 9 AM to 5 PM on a Sunday – Classroom and hands-on

What to bring: You will need to bring either a laptop or tablet/e-reader with the electronic version of the manual (link below), or a 1-½-inch binder to hold your manual.  Bring lunch/snacks and wear comfortable work clothes on Saturday and Sunday as the exercises (drills) will be indoors and out. 

What Does the Course Involve?

The course consists of eight units and a review. Classes are taught by trained emergency personnel. The format may vary from one or more classes a week to three eight-hour days. The schedule is up to the instructor and the class. The course agenda is generally as follows:

  • Disaster Preparedness: Addresses hazards specific to the community. Materials cover actions that participants and their families take before, during and after a disaster as well as an overview of CERT and local laws governing volunteers.
  • Fire Suppression: Covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards and fire suppression strategies. However, the thrust of this session is the safe use of fire extinguishers, controlling utilities and extinguishing a small fire.
  • Medical Operations Part I: Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding and shock by using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques.
  • Medical Operations Part II: Covers evaluating patients by doing a head to toe assessment, establishing a medical treatment area and performing basic first aid.
  • Light Search and Rescue Operations: Participants learn about search and rescue planning, size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques and rescuer safety.
  • Psychology and Team Organization: Covers signs and symptoms that might be experienced by the disaster victim and workers, and addresses CERT organization and management.
  • Course Review and Disaster Simulation: Participants review and practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six sessions in a disaster activity.

REGISTER YOUR SKILLS HERE
You may indicate on your registration form that you are interested in CERT training.
The next CERT Basic Class will be held on October 3-4-5 at San Juan Island Grange
TRAIN THE TRAINER class will be held October 6-7-8 (pre-requisite CERT Basic)
Having trainers from our islands will ensure that we won’t have to go outside of San Juan County for CERT Basic Classes in the future!