Boone County News Release
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Matthew Brown, CERT Program Manager
Boone County Office of Emergency Management
Phone: (573) 554-7900
Email: MBrown@boonecountymo.org
Boone County Office of Emergency Management Offers Community Emergency Response Team Training
February 27, 2024 –The Boone County Office of Emergency Management (BCOEM) will offer a free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training course through the month of March. As the spring severe weather season approaches, this in-person training will help members of the community be better prepared.
To enroll in the CERT Basic Training course, participants must:
• be a resident of or employed in Boone County. (Non-county residents wishing to participate will be considered on a case-by-case basis. If possible, they will be referred to a local program where they reside.)
• be at least 18 years old.
The CERT Program was developed by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985 when they realized that the impact of disasters could be lessened if citizens were more prepared through disaster survival training. The training they created was adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1994 and expanded into a nationwide program under Citizen Corps. There are now thousands of CERTs in communities across the country.
In the event of a major emergency or disaster within Boone County, the reality may be that public safety resources will be overwhelmed. CERT education is intended to lessen the impact of disaster on trained individuals and enable them to aid family members, neighbors, and co-workers immediately following an emergency until first responders arrive.
CERT Basic Training provides individuals who complete this course with the basic skills required to respond to their community’s immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster when emergency services may not immediately be available. It also trains them to support first responders once they arrive on-scene. By working together, CERT volunteers can help save lives and protect property using the basic techniques learned in this course. The target audience for this course is individuals who desire the skills and knowledge required to respond to a disaster.
This course is delivered over four weekly sessions and one all-day session. During the training, participants will receive a combination of lecture and hands-on skills training. Participants will take a written exam and receive a certificate indicating successful completion of the course. The 2024 CERT Basic Training course will follow the schedule below:
2024 CERT Basic Training Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
Date |
Time |
Topic |
March 6 |
6:00pm-9:00pm |
Unit 1: Disaster Preparedness |
March 13 |
6:00pm-9:00pm |
Unit 3: Disaster Medical Operations Part 1 |
March 20 |
6:00pm-9:00pm |
Unit 5: Disaster Psychology |
March 27 |
6:00pm-9:00pm |
Unit 6: Fire Safety & Utility Controls |
March 30 |
8:00am-5:00pm |
Unit 7: Light Search & Rescue |
Participants MUST pre-register to attend and cannot miss more than 10% (~2 hours) of the total course to be eligible for certification. The CERT Basic Training course has a 20-participant maximum and a 6-participant minimum. Should the course be cancelled due to low participation, registrants will be contacted by the Boone County CERT Program Manager no less than 24 hours prior to the beginning of the course.
To register, please visit the BCOEM website at http://www.showmeboone.com/oem/training/cert and click on the registration button at the bottom of the screen.
Registration deadline is Monday, March 4, 2024.
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