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About CERT

What is CERT?

This is a volunteer organization designed to help people help themselves and others in a time of a crisis.CERT: Big Bear Valley

Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services.
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is a valuable course designed to help you protect yourself, your family, your neighbors and your neighborhood in an emergency situation.

CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. While people will respond to others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to help them do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger. In the CERT training, citizens learn to: 

  • manage utilities and put out small fires,
  • treat the three medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, and treating for shock,
  • provide basic medical aid,
  • search for and rescue victims safely,
  • organize themselves and spontaneous volunteers to be effective,
  • and collect disaster intelligence to support first responder efforts.

    • WHY DO THE CERT TRAINING?

    Well, it’s like paying for car insurance. You might never need either; you’d hope not to. But if the occasion arises, having the CERT training, just like having car insurance, means you’re as ready as you can be to help yourself, your family and your neighborhood.