Are you C.E.R.T. certified? (Check in)

[AZ Prepper]

If you are C.E.R.T. certified, please check in!

Tell us...

• Your location (city and state is sufficient)
• How many people in your neighborhood/stake are CERT trained (that you know of)
• If you've organized a group to prepare for emergencies using the CERT organization

We'd like to see how many there are on this board and possibly start an area to discuss ideas, plans, techniques, etc. to help communities and neighborhoods become better organized for emergency situations.

Thank you for your participation!

[AZ Prepper]

I recently took the CERT course from Kenneth Moravec.

• I am in Mesa, Arizona
• Trying to find out if there are others in my neighborhood who are CERT. None that I no of.
• I'm trying to work out how to organize a team in my neighborhood.

I've spoken with my Bishop about holding some meetings during the week at the church building and have his blessing. I'm just trying to get the information in order and look forward to hearing from others about what things they have done and what works and doesn't work well.

[Rizzo]

I got certified at the same one as Darin.

Gilbert, AZ
I know of at least one guy on my street who is in my ward...he happens to be an instructor too, so hoping he has some ideas for organizing a team.

[Northmountain]

Orem / Lindon, Utah

24 Adults in our neighborhood. 21 are certified. 92 in ward are certified. 266 certified in stake at this time after a number of move outs.

Background: I presented the CERT program to the stake presidency a few years ago, dovetailing it with the stake emergency preparedness / food storage goals that year. Of course, that resulted in a stake emergency preparedness leader calling. We held spring and fall CERT training sessions for residents in the stake at the stake center that extended over 3 consecutive nights and Saturday for each group.

Nine residents in the stake had completed CERT training before that time.

The stake presidency, high council, bishoprics, HP group leaderships, elders, stake relief society, young men, young women and primary presidencies were certified in the spring training per my request to the stake president. They even rescheduled normal meetings around the training so they could attend as a group. Their leadership obviously added to the number that completed the training throughout the year.

I also specifically asked that the YSA ward leaders attend even though most of them would leave after completing college. They will take the training and subsequent mock disaster drills with them to benefit their families and neighbors through life. Although not included in the stake count, they were highly enthusiastic and kept the 'old married folks' 'jazzed'. Don't forget to include them if you have a YSA ward in your area.

We allowed high school juniors and seniors to attend if their parents gave written permission. They aren't included in the count either.

I've posted a few photos from the fall training mock disaster on Flickr.

We compressed the training into four, 4-hour, consecutive training sessions because less than 10% could or would attend the training if it was spread out one night per week over several months. (That schedule simply won't work in the busy lives of LDS folks).

The sessions started at 6:00 p.m. sharp. I asked attendees to come directly to the church from work and arranged with the RS from each ward and the stake RS to take one night during the two courses and provide a light dinner that could be eaten while the presentations were taking place. We absolutely needed the extra hour each night to get through the training. Sometimes we held folks slightly beyond 10 p.m.

I worked with the high school drama club and instructor to provide many of the 'victims' for the mock disaster. They received extra credit for it.

The remaining 60% + of victims came from our YM / YW and some of the ward youth leaderships. The kids had a great time. Some of the YSA ward members volunteered to be victims too and were so effective that most of the priesthood leaders were actually shaken up by their realistic acting during the disaster drills. I probably enjoyed watching the reaction of the leaders more than any other aspect of the training. It really got them thinking of how they will react and organize in a real emergency that affects the stake. Be very careful about allowing young folks less than 16 to participate as victims in the disaster drill though. It upsets many of them.

Additionally, I worked with the stake YM & YW leaders to dovetail emergency prep merit badges and the equivalent YW awards with the CERT training and stake preparedness activities. Both groups were awarded a very large number of badges and awards related to emergency preparedness during the year.

There are a lot of "I's" in this note - it is simply due to how the assignment worked... I worked with YM Presidency and scout leaders in each ward on emergency preparedness related eagle projects. Several of the eagle projects built backboards for each of the buildings in our stake. The boards are now mounted in custodian's closets. The eagle candidates also worked with me as volunteers in the training sessions and at the disaster drills. Our CERT teams were all trained using the boards and storage locations so they can be easily retrieved and used by CERT folks if needed.

I also established a HAM radio training course in the stake so residents and many of the CERT trained folks could get their amateur licenses to aid their teams.

Early in the process , all of the wards were organized into neighborhood groups and the neighborhood / block captains are required to be CERT trained. We tried to get married couples as the captains with both of them CERT trained. That has worked very well so far.

We knew from the start that none of the block captains would respond outside of their neighborhood in a real disaster until their neighborhood was safe and secured. That cuts into the overall community CERT response team size but it addresses much of the initial accounting of disaster effects on citizens. The CERT training has been invaluable as the captains have organized their neighborhoods.

Lastly, I was able to secure back packs and fanny packs of various sizes at cost for the CERT trainees which encouraged them to have a dedicated CERT pack.

We charged $25 per person for materials for the course. The fee covered the cost of manuals, helmets, gloves, goggles, vests and a small light pack that was purchased through the city. The prices have gone up to around $35 - $40 since then.

We spent a night after each group graduated tearing up old sheets to use as bandages in the packs and found several group purchase opportunities for other kit items that aren't typically laying around the house unused. We also made cribbing from scraps from the construction sites of the folks who are builders in the stake. Caches were then created for the cribbing and other items in each ward.

Bottom line, solid backing and support from priesthood and stake leadership is a key to the CERT training success in LDS wards and stakes. Member buy-in and enthusiasm really encourages non-members to complete the training and take leadership roles too. We invited every adult living in the stake boundaries to the training and enjoyed having non-LDS folks attend with members of the stake. The subsequent CERT and neighborhood teams are significantly strengthened with the commonality of the training and mock disaster experiences.

[AZ Prepper]

Wow! Sounds like you and your stake have been busy with this CERT stuff! We need to have you move down here for a little while and do the same thing!

[Northmountain]

It takes a few weeks intense effort and organization but is certainly do-able by anyone. Get your leadership to fully support you and advertise their support, etc., and it will all come together in short order.

Make spreadsheets for the trainees, contacts, volunteer victims, building contacts, purchasing and city contacts, etc. Have all of the trainees fill out a questionnaire the first night of class with contact info, supplies and equipment that they can lend in an emergency, etc.

Don't forget a sign in sheet for each night... Folks have to attend all sessions to get the training completion document.

Also, work with your local school district to 'rent' a school or other facility for the disaster drill. They usually want to be involved themselves, especially when you tell them that the folks being trained are probably going to be the first responders to the school in a real disaster. Call the church and get liability insurance to cover the school district under the signature of your stake president. -- small fee.

Be sure to work with the city and their CERT program if one exists. You'll need a certified instructor(s) (typically firemen, paramedics and policemen that have been certified by a state certification program). They may or may not be paid by the city to teach the classes. Ours have always been folks who volunteered to teach, but in some cases they had to take vacation time to do so.... thus, plan on a gift or thank you of some type for these wonderful folks.

[Moravec]

American Fork, Utah
I have 83 on my team
We organized in March of 2000 with just me. We currently have 83. I am the CERT Team leader for my ward and stake and all of northern American Fork where there are not CERT teams set up. We have 8 in the city including ours.

[tkladvantage]

Cedar Hills Utah

I was CERT certified about 10 years ago. I still have my CERT bag next to my bed (next to my 72 hour kits)

I was trained in Orem. I do not know if any in my neighborhood are trained.

[Carinslp]

My husband, son, and I just completed a CERT course in Pleasant Grove. We live in a nearby city. When my husband went to city hall to notify them that we had taken the course, they did not have any organization in place for it. I guess we have some work to do here. I would highly recommend taking the course. I am extremely busy, but I made it a priority and got through it. For F.H.E., we are going to go through our packs and get everything together. In our mock disaster....I probably "killed" a couple of people because I didn't have everything I needed...and I am saying that in jest!

[razzintaz]

My husband and I would like to get our C.E.R.T, but have no idea where to go to do it. We are in Washington.. Any suggestions?

[Northmountain]

Check with your police department. If a CERT group hasn't been organized in your community, check with a nearby larger community. Typically, the police and fire department personnel are involved in training (their certifications are required to train sections of the CERT coursework) and CERT is usually administered by the Police Dept.

If you can find others who want CERT training in your community and the city doesn't currently offer it, go as a group and ask for the city to organize a CERT group for the city. Most are happy to do so if you help them and if the (usually unbudgeted) costs are kept to minimal levels.

Point them to the CitizenCorps site for more info. http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert

My husband and I would like to get our C.E.R.T, but have no idea where to go to do it. We are in Washington.. Any suggestions?

[kf7eec]

Yes on CERT.

I don't know of anyone in my neighborhood or Ward that has completed CERT. We organized a CERT class in our Ward... not enough people showed up so the city canceled it...

[sddrew]

Pleasant Grove, Utah checking in. Cert Trained in 2006ish, also an Instructor now. Currently with the new calling of Ward Specialist it's looking like I'll have 15 couples getting trained in the spring. There is only 3 of us trained in my ward now, give me a year and that will change.

[Bro Jones]

City of Hyrum, UT has a CERT of about 60. We're shooting for 100 members (for 2 stakes). We've held 3 classes so far. We should have another in the fall. So far, 4 members of the Hyrum CERT are from my ward (Hyrum 14th)

[Kelly Alwood]

I am CERT certified since 2006.
I am the only one in my ward.
Im guessing the stake is about the same.
I attend all of the local CERT meetings and training in my county. We had 15 at our county training last Saturday from a four county invite. All bud one were HAM operators as well. Which seems to really be the backbone of most. HAM/ARES/RACES seem to be the persons making up the majority of these groups here. Which may explain why our ward has no CERT people, as my father and I are the only lisenced HAM operators in the ward as well.

[FireDad6]

Does anyone know if the State of Idaho has any CERT programs? I live in Eastern Idaho (Idaho Falls). Also what is the best way for me to join ARES/RACES??