What does CERT mean in COMMUNITY

CERT stands for Citizens Emergency Response Team. It is a volunteer organization trained to respond to natural disasters and other emergency situations such as fires, floods, and hazardous materials spills. The team provides essential services including search and rescue, medical assistance, fire suppression, and damage assessment.

In order to become a member of the CERT program you must first complete an application form for the local authorities or volunteer coordinators in your area. Most communities have their own unique requirements for joining the team so make sure to contact your local authorities for information about eligibility, training requirements, and certifications needed.

Training includes basic knowledge in disaster preparedness; light search and rescue; medical operations; terrorism awareness; hazard assessment; disaster psychology; basic firefighting; incident command system (ICS); evacuation techniques/disaster drills.

Any person who meets the requirements set by their local jurisdiction may apply to become a part of the team. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old and pass background checks conducted by local officials. Additionally they must attend all training sessions offered by their specific program in order to participate actively in activities on-site or off-site during deployments.

Depending on their individual skill sets, volunteers can be assigned tasks such as search and rescue; fire suppression support; hazard material evaluation and containment support; communications support (radios); medical operations support (first aid triage); evacuation operations support; debris removal & clean up operations support just to name a few.

If you find yourself in an emergency situation that requires assistance from your local CERT unit you should contact your nearest law enforcement agency or dial 911 immediately for help. They will then assess your situation and deploy any available resources as necessary including contacting nearby local emergency response teams such as the one organized by your community's CERT program.

Generally speaking most members meet on an annual basis for refreshers courses or seminars alongside assemblies with special guest speakers related to emergency management topics. However each individual community or jurisdiction may organize different types of meetings depending on their needs, so make sure to contact your designated leadership crew for further details regarding events scheduling at your area's program level.

Yes! Most states offer some type of compensation package that includes employee benefits such as health insurance coverage, paid vacation time off, pensions plans etc., depending upon how many hours per year are committed by each individual member towards volunteering service with their respective community's organization efforts during deploying times.

Different types of safety gear are issued by each jurisdiction upon completing all required state certification courses before becoming active members within a certain community’s citizen response unit initiative efforts such as hard hats, protective vests/clothing articles along with various hand held safety tools utilized while performing different types of duties both inside buildings or out outdoors when responding to reported incidents or conducting risk assessments nearby affected areas.

Understanding how ICS works helps individuals participating inside any kind of response operations scenario greatly due its structured yet flexible approach when managing multiple administrative tasks associated with large scale events where numerous levels local professionals take active roles throughout entire stages while organizing resources involved during any prolonged period disasters.