Free Community Emergency Response Team Training Begins April 24

Learn basic disaster and emergency response skills – such as disaster preparedness, fire safety, and basic first aid – at the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training program, which begins April 24.

Pre-registration is required for this 30-hour course that meets 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Emergency Operations Center through October 20, and can be completed at www.flaglercounty.gov/emergency and select “Volunteering and Training” from the menu. Attendees will be expected to wear masks while in class to help limit the spread of COVID-19.

 “The program as an important partnership between the community and professional first responders,” said Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord. “CERT allows our residents to train with subject matter experts. Previous experience is not necessary – just a desire to learn and help others.”

 Flagler County’s program is provided by the Emergency Management Office in partnership with the Fire Rescue Department and the non-profit Flagler Volunteer Services.  

 “It is a way to improve overall community preparedness by educating residents about how to prepare for and respond to the hazards most likely to impact our community,” Lord said. “When our residents are trained in these basic disaster response skills, it allows our first responders to focus on the most critical needs in a disaster.”

 The Autumn 2021 CERT program will educate residents about topics such as: disaster preparedness; team organization; disaster medical skills; disaster psychology; fire safety and utility controls; light search and rescue; and, terrorism. Additionally, there is a disaster simulation.

 For more information, go to www.flaglercounty.gov/emergency and select “Volunteering and Training” from the menu, or for those without internet access, call 386-313-4200.