Community Emergency Response Team Training

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

The classroom training and team building exercises will help you acquire the skills needed to assist others in your neighborhood or workplace after an incident when professional responders are not immediately available to help. As a CERT member, you are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in your community.

If you're a team leader, please email your name, phone number and email address to the CERT coordinator to be notified once a meeting or training date is established.

To find out more before enrolling, check out the FEMA's Introduction to Community Emergency Response Teams online independent study course.

Through training, you will learn:
- Disaster Preparedness: Prepare for various hazards that may occur.
- Team Organization and Disaster Psychology: Learn to work well in a team setting under stressful emergency event.
- Medical Operations: Conduct triage, establish medical treatment areas, and provide basic first aid for victims.
- Damage Assessment: Learn to rapidly assess damage using a standard system.
- Terrorism Awareness: Define terrorism, terrorist goals, weapons, and indicators of a terrorist attack.
- Fire Suppression: Learn to use extinguishers and other equipment to suppress small fires.
- Light Search and Rescue: Learn search and rescue planning, techniques, and rescuer safety.
The entire CERT training course is 20 hours, broken up over three days. Classes are offered at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Training Facility in Doral and at other locations in the County. To learn more, email the CERT coordinator.

In order to complete certification, you must attend all three days at the same campus. There are no make-up days.

Trainees with disabilities are welcome, and ADA accommodations will be provided upon request. Requests should be sent to the CERT coordinator.

You must be 18 or older and complete the Informed Consent, Waiver and Release Agreement, which must be signed and notarized on the first day of class, and then filed with the CERT program manager.

Refresher Training for Existing CERT Members

As a CERT member you are notified via email of the annual refresher bonus class to practice putting out fires, search and rescue techniques, and brushing up on rusty skills.

You must wear long-sleeved shirts, jeans, and boots or sneakers to attend the event. All those not wearing the required attire will be denied access for safety reasons.
Team members must be 18 years of age and older. Physical limitations do not deter participation on a CERT as there are multiple functions requiring limited physical exertion. It is the responsibility of the team member to advise the instructors of their limitations.
- Neighborhood CERT: Neighbors serving their own immediate communities.
- Business or Government CERT: Co-workers serving places of business and surrounding areas, or county, municipal or state agency employees.
- School CERT: School faculty and staff serving school and surrounding area.
- Faith-Based CERT: Teams based at a house of worship serving the immediate neighborhood.
Individuals with no group affiliation are encouraged to form teams prior to enrollment. Those unable to form teams will be scheduled for classes as class size permits. The CERT program liaisons will attempt to align the individual with an existing team.

The CERT program includes instruction that will provide the teams with the skills and knowledge necessary to create a rapid and effective rescue operation.
Test your knowledge using our interactive tools on triage, fire suppression and preparedness. All courses require that the Adobe Flash plugin.