Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Series

Course# TD1506

Note: This series is capped at 24 participants.

Competency:   Safety

Type: All Inclusive Series
To maximize the collaborative learning, please review your calendar before registering to ensure you can attend all sessions.
Total Series Time: 24 Hours (eight 3 hour sessions)

Make-Ups: There will be no make-up sessions available for this series.

Pre-requisites: None

Series Description: The CERT series consists of basic skills training in disaster preparedness and mitigation, fire and life safety, terrorism preparedness, and crime prevention. The series will consist of eight 3-hour sessions.

Presented by: Captain Arthur Miller, Lieutenant Wanda Willis and Paul Helmuth of the Harrisonburg Fire Department, Lieutenant Karen Will of the Rockingham County Department of Fire and Rescue and Kevin Lanoue, Crime Analyst/Emergency Management Specialist at JMU.

Session Information:
Fridays, May 2, 16, 23, 30 AND June 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2014
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wine-Price

Session 1: Introduction to Disasters, Disaster Mitigation and Disaster Preparedness
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe types of hazards that most affect their home and community.
  • Describe functions of CERTs and their role in immediate response.
  • Identify steps to prepare for emergencies.

Session 2: Fire Safety
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Explain the role that CERTs play in fire safety.
  • Identify and reduce potential fire risks in the home and workplace.
  • Conduct a basic sizeup for a fire emergency.
  • Understand minimum safety precautions (safety equipment, utility control, buddy system, back-up teams).
  • Identify locations of hazardous materials in community and home; learn to reduce risk in home.
  • Extinguish small fires using a fire extinguisher.

Session 3: First Aid, Part I
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Identify the "killers".
  • Apply techniques for opening the airway, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock.

Session 4: Emergency First Aid, Part II
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Take appropriate sanitation measures to protect public health.
  • Perform head-to-toe assessments.
  • Establish treatment.
  • Apply splints to suspected fractures and sprains, and employ basic treatments for other wounds.

Session 5: Terrorism Preparedness and Crime Prevention
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define terrorism.
  • Identify potential targets in the community.
  • Identify CERT operating procedures for a terrorist incident.
  • Describe the actions to take following a suspected terrorist incident.

Session 6: Disaster Psychology, Disasters & Special Populations, and Animals & Disaster
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Provide techniques for individuals to manage their personal situation thus enabling them to help others.
  • Describe the disaster and post-disaster emotional environment.
  • Describe the steps that rescuers can take to relieve their own stress and those of disaster survivors.

Session 7: Course Review, Disaster Simulation, CERT Organization and Completion Ceremony
After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the CERT organization.
  • Identify how CERTs interrelate with Incident Command Systems.
  • Explain CERT documentation requirements.

Session 8: Course De-Brief
In this wrap-up class, individual CERT classes will be discussed, along with a debrief of the final scenario.  Bring your questions and the panel members will answers them and offer further explanations requested.

What do you still need and want from CERT to feel comfortable and competent to help your neighbors in their time of need?  How do you think you will use your CERT basic training?

Also, Kevin Lanoue will discuss how you can advance and be involved on the JMU CERT Team!  What are the plans? How can you get involved? Kevin will have your answers!


*Current schedule subject to change based on instructor availability.

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