{"id":40,"date":"2025-08-11T20:24:33","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T03:24:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/?page_id=40"},"modified":"2025-08-11T20:44:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T03:44:49","slug":"what-is-cert","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/","title":{"rendered":"What is CERT"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-default\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WestSalem_SpringCDE-12.jpg\" alt=\"CERT members during an exercise\" class=\"wp-image-48\" srcset=\"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WestSalem_SpringCDE-12.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WestSalem_SpringCDE-12-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/WestSalem_SpringCDE-12-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a national program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that trains and organizes volunteers to assist their communities in the event of a disaster. The program&#8217;s core mission is to educate people about disaster preparedness and equip them with basic response skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s a breakdown of what the CERT program is and what its members do:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Core Purpose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>&#8220;Neighbors helping neighbors&#8221;:<\/strong> CERT was founded on the idea that in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster, professional first responders may be overwhelmed or unable to reach all affected areas. CERT volunteers are trained to provide immediate assistance to their families, neighbors, and co-workers until professional help arrives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>A &#8220;force-multiplier&#8221; for first responders:<\/strong> CERT members are trained to handle a variety of basic response tasks, which allows professional responders to focus on more complex, critical tasks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Training and Skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CERT training is a comprehensive program that covers a range of essential disaster response skills.<sup><\/sup> While specific curricula may vary by location, key training modules typically include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Disaster Preparedness:<\/strong> Learning about the hazards most likely to affect the community and how to prepare for them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fire Safety:<\/strong> Basic fire suppression, identifying and reducing fire hazards, and using fire extinguishers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Disaster Medical Operations:<\/strong> Triage (the process of sorting victims by the severity of their injuries), basic first aid, and establishing a treatment area.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Light Search and Rescue:<\/strong> Learning safe techniques for searching a structure, removing debris, and extricating victims.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Team Organization and Disaster Psychology:<\/strong> Working as a team using the Incident Command System (ICS), and understanding the emotional and psychological effects of a disaster on both victims and rescuers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Roles and Responsibilities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the primary role of a CERT member is to assist in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, their activities extend beyond this. CERT volunteers may also:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Promote Preparedness:<\/strong> Educate the public about disaster preparedness through community events and presentations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Support Non-Emergency Events:<\/strong> Provide assistance with first-aid, traffic control, and crowd management at community events like festivals and parades.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Assist in Recovery Efforts:<\/strong> Help with tasks like distributing supplies, staffing emergency operations centers, and assisting at evacuation centers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a national program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that trains and organizes volunteers to assist their communities in the event of a disaster. The program&#8217;s core mission is to educate people about disaster preparedness and equip them with basic response skills. Here&#8217;s a breakdown of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-40","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58,"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/40\/revisions\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salemoregoncert.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}