Community Emergency Response Team offers basic training

The Carson City Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be offering a free basic training academy in mid-May and again later in the year. The academy is accepting applications from persons interested in volunteering.

“CERT is a nationwide program of community volunteers who help prepare their local communities for critical events and support first responders in the event of a real-world incident,” city officials said in a news release.

The basic academy includes training in disaster preparedness, fire safety and utility control, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, light search and rescue and terrorism. The academy training consists of approximately 26 hours of classroom instruction delivered over six sessions in two weeks (Thursday-Friday evening, and Saturday all day), culminating with a practical demonstration of the learned skills. All sessions must be completed to graduate.

“You do not have to live in Carson City to participate, and no special skills or prior training is needed to participate in this training,” reads the release. “If you’re between 16-17 years old, you can attend with a signed parent’s permission release.”

Community members who complete the academy will be encouraged to participate in Carson City CERT activities throughout the year, which include attending training meetings once a month, participating in other training and exercises, providing preparedness materials to the community during public events and supporting first responders during critical events, the city said.

Contact CERT by emailing cert@carson.org and indicate any interest in the CERT academy in May.

“You will receive an application that must be completed and returned to cert@carson.org no later than Friday, April 5, to be considered for a seat in the May academy,” the city said, adding seats are limited.