Lake Arrowhead CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
CERT is a national program organized under FEMA and in partnership with the Citizen's Corps. CERT organizations are almost entirely volunteer and are generally sponsored by local fire or emergency management agencies. https://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/index.shtm
LA-CERT is a division of Cherokee County CERT organized under the Cherokee County Marshal's Office and the Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency (http://www.cherokeega-ema.org/cert.cfm). LA-CERT leadership takes it's direction from the Cherokee County EMA Director.
LA-CERT is made up of volunteer residents of the Lake Arrowhead Community and the surrounding areas in Northwest Cherokee County in North Georgia.
LA-CERT Team members are initially trained on Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety and Light Firefighting, Disaster Medical Operations, Light Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism, and how the organization functions and interacts with other Emergency Responder organizations under the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System. Supplemental training is offered on more advanced subjects including Emergency Management, Chainsaw Safety & Operation, First Responder Training, Communications, Shelter Management, and Emergency Operations Center functions.
What are Community Emergency Response Teams?
Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is all-hazard training designed to allow neighbors to respond to a disaster when local responders are overwhelmed and we need to take action while waiting for emergency services to arrive. This valuable course is designed to help citizens protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors in an emergency situation.
CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. While people will respond to help others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to prepare them to do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger.
ROLES OF CERT
CERT Members are not intended to replace a community's response capability, but rather, to serve as an important supplement to it.
In an emergency your first call is to 911 - always.
CERT members must keep their own safety in mind as their first priority. CERT volunteers must know their capabilities and the limitations of their training and equipment and work within those limitations.
CERT members are considered "Good Samaritans" and are covered under the Volunteer Protection Act. CERT volunteers do not have any authority beyond serving as "Good Samaritan" when helping others. When deployed appropriately, however, CERTs can complement and enhance first-response capability in neighborhoods and workplaces by ensuring the safety of themselves and their families working outward to the neighborhood or office and beyond until first responders arrive. CERTs can then assist first-response personnel as directed.
LA-CERT is a division of Cherokee County CERT organized under the Cherokee County Marshal's Office and the Cherokee County Emergency Management Agency (http://www.cherokeega-ema.org/cert.cfm). LA-CERT leadership takes it's direction from the Cherokee County EMA Director.
LA-CERT is made up of volunteer residents of the Lake Arrowhead Community and the surrounding areas in Northwest Cherokee County in North Georgia.
LA-CERT Team members are initially trained on Disaster Preparedness, Fire Safety and Light Firefighting, Disaster Medical Operations, Light Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology, Terrorism, and how the organization functions and interacts with other Emergency Responder organizations under the National Incident Management System and Incident Command System. Supplemental training is offered on more advanced subjects including Emergency Management, Chainsaw Safety & Operation, First Responder Training, Communications, Shelter Management, and Emergency Operations Center functions.
What are Community Emergency Response Teams?
Local government prepares for everyday emergencies. However, during a disaster, the number and scope of incidents can overwhelm conventional emergency services. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program is all-hazard training designed to allow neighbors to respond to a disaster when local responders are overwhelmed and we need to take action while waiting for emergency services to arrive. This valuable course is designed to help citizens protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors in an emergency situation.
CERT is a positive and realistic approach to emergency and disaster situations where citizens may initially be on their own and their actions can make a difference. While people will respond to help others in need without the training, one goal of the CERT program is to prepare them to do so effectively and efficiently without placing themselves in unnecessary danger.
ROLES OF CERT
- CERT personnel are trained to:
- Identify and mitigate potential hazards in their homes and workplace.
- Prepare themselves and their loved ones for the hazards that they face.
- Learn skills to help themselves, loved ones, and neighbors until professional responders arrive and then provide support to those responders during the initial phases of the disaster or community emergency.
- Work cooperatively as a team within their neighborhoods or workplaces.
- Understand their capabilities and limitations when deployed.
- CERT members DO NOT:
- Chase ambulances, fire trucks, or any emergency response vehicle!
- Suppress large fires.
- Enter structures that they consider heavily damaged and dangerous (e.g., leaning or moved from foundation).
- Perform hazardous materials cleanup or respond to incidents involving radiological, chemical, or biological agents.
- Perform medical, fire, or search and rescue operations beyond their level of training.
- CERT members are encouraged to:
- Participate in continuing education and training to expand their skills and qualifications.
- Maintain a relationship with Cherokee County Office of Homeland Security-Emergency Management.
- Volunteer for projects to enhance the public safety and resilience of their communities.
CERT Members are not intended to replace a community's response capability, but rather, to serve as an important supplement to it.
In an emergency your first call is to 911 - always.
CERT members must keep their own safety in mind as their first priority. CERT volunteers must know their capabilities and the limitations of their training and equipment and work within those limitations.
CERT members are considered "Good Samaritans" and are covered under the Volunteer Protection Act. CERT volunteers do not have any authority beyond serving as "Good Samaritan" when helping others. When deployed appropriately, however, CERTs can complement and enhance first-response capability in neighborhoods and workplaces by ensuring the safety of themselves and their families working outward to the neighborhood or office and beyond until first responders arrive. CERTs can then assist first-response personnel as directed.
