Emergency Preparedness - CERT

CERT was organized in the mid 1990s as a citizen adjunct to the Culver City Fire Department to help in case of disasters which overload the available time and resources of the Fire Department.
In a large scale disaster, individuals and communities may have to rely on their own resources for food, water, rescue, and medical assistance for up to 72 hours (or more if the disaster is very severe).  CERT team members are citizens who volunteered for 3 1/2 days of training in disaster preparedness, light search and rescue, emergency first aid, and handling of psychological trauma.  They are trained to

• Prepare their homes and cars before disaster strikes, and in a disaster:

• Stay safe

• Help their families

• Help their community

• Help with problems throughout the city (Culver City)

in that order.  After the initial hours of a disaster, CERT members are contacted as needed by telephone (if the disaster is not an earthquake) or by amateur radio operators to help the Fire Department with trouble areas in the city.  This help will be coordinated through a chain of command and facilitated by the CCARES radio communication.

Detailed information about CERT training and be found at http://www.ci.culver-city.ca.us/cert/cert.html.