(March 26, 2009) – Offered free of charge through the Montgomery County Office of Emergency Management and The Woodlands Fire Department, CERT is a program that prepares you to help yourself, your family and your neighbors in the event of a disaster. CERT stands for Community Emergency Response Team. During an incident, emergency services personnel may not be able to reach everyone right away. By getting trained in CERT, you will have the skills to help emergency responders save lives and protect property. CERT members can also assist with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of their community.
The CERT training course is approximately 20 hours and includes hands-on practice of CERT skills. CERT training is offered to those 18 and older. Instruction is provided by trained emergency personnel from your community, including law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. Participants receive a training manual and CERT equipment backpack.
The Woodlands Fire Department will be holding CERT training classes every Tuesday, 6 to 9 p.m., May 12 through June 30, at The Woodlands Emergency Training Center, 16135 Interstate Highway 45 South, 77385. Sign up now by calling 281.367.3444.
The course syllabus is as follows:
Class 1-Disaster Preparedness: Registration, Introduction, Hazard Mitigation, Disasters and Hazards at Home and Workplace, and Community Preparedness
Class 2-Fire Safety: Fire Chemistry, Reducing Fire Hazards, Hazardous Materials, Hands-on Fire Extinguisher Exercise
Class 3- Disaster Medical Operations (part 1): Recognizing Life-Threatening Conditions, Treating Life-Threatening Conditions, Triage
Class 4- Disaster Medical Operations (part 2): Public Health Considerations, Establishing Treatment Areas, Conducting Head-to-Toe Assessments, Treating Non Life-Threatening Injuries
Class 5- Light Search and Rescue: Search and Rescue Size-up, Conducting Search and Rescue Operations, Hands-on Rescue/Cribbing Exercise
Class 6- CERT Organization and Disaster Psychology: CERT Organization, CERT Decision Making, Documentation, Team Well-Being, Working with Survivors' Trauma
Class 7- Terrorism and CERT: What is Terrorism, Terrorism Targets, Terrorism Weapons, Preparing at Home and Work
Class 8- Disaster Simulation: Course Review, Disaster Simulation
Dates for an additional CERT class will be announced this summer. To sign up, or for more information, please call The Woodlands Fire Department at 281.367.3444.
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