Community Emergency Response Team in Carson City seeks volunteers
The Community Emergency Response Team, also known as CERT, seeks Carson City area volunteers available to help when the city has an emergency need.
CERT is a program that educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the disasters or hazards that may happen, said spokeswoman Barbara Ford. CERT trains volunteers in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue and team organization for disaster medical operations.
This year, the Carson City CERT program was activated to run a temporary warming shelter for those without power in the Carson City area in early January, according to Ford.
CERT was developed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. CERT became a national program sponsored by FEMA in 1993. There are now CERT programs in all 50 states, including many tribal nations and U.S. territories.
There are over 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide and more than 600,000 people have trained since CERT became a national program.
Those in the Carson City area who would like to be a CERT volunteer can email cert@carson.org or call the Carson City Fire Department and ask for CERT at 775 887-2210.