COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM

(CERT)

The Echo Lake CERT team is one of many CERT teams being developed in the Paradise Valley Community program. Each CERT team is a group of at least ten locally trained volunteers who are ready to respond when duty calls.

All CERT members are trained in FEMA standard basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, disaster medical operations, trauma psychology, and responses to terrorist and active shooters.

All basic CERT training is consistent with a 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.

The CERT program was designed as a grassroots initiative and specifically structured so that the local and state program managers have the flexibility to form their programs in the way that best suits their communities.

Through CERT programs, team members provide preparedness workshops for others who don’t wish to volunteer with a team but would like to help family members and neighbors. With this kind of collaboration, the community can establish and enhance capabilities to prepare for, respond to, and recover from a disaster.

CERT volunteers are trained to respond safely, responsibly, and effectively to emergencies, but they can also support their communities during non-emergency events as well. In extreme weather emergencies, CERT-trained individuals are critical to supporting local fire and law enforcement.

In neighborhoods, businesses, and schools, there are over 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide, with more than 600,000 individuals trained since CERT became a national program.

Community members over the age of 18 are encouraged to participate in CERT training. Those community members between the ages of 13 to 17 may participate with a parent or guardian.

If you are interested in learning more about emergency preparedness or becoming a member of a disaster response team, please contact Paradise Valley Community Association at pvca.cert@gmail.com