Skip to content

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

Following a major disaster, first responders who provide fire and medical services will not be able to meet the demand for these services. Factors such as number of victims, communication failures and road blockages will prevent people from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment’s notice through 911. People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

Training

Daviess County CERT is organized according to standardized incident management principles, including chain of command and span of control. When you complete CERT training, you’ll have a better understanding of the potential risks to your home, neighborhood and workplace. This knowledge will enable you to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from hazards in a more effective and efficient manner.

CERT training will enable you to provide emergency services, including:

  • Establish command
  • Basic first aid
  • Fire suppression
  • Assessing assigned areas
  • Performing light search & rescue and triage

Daviess County Emergency Management offers CERT training yearly, usually starting about the third week in  September for eight sessions.  We encourage all residents to take the free course in order to learn how to take care of your family members and your neighbors in the event of a disaster when emergency responders could be delayed or unable to respond.  When professional help does arrive, you can provide useful information to responders and support their efforts.

Courses
  • Introduction to Emergency Preparedness
    • Overview & course objectives
    • Daviess County’s Emergency Management System
    • Severe Weather & other potential emergencies facing Daviess County
  • Disaster Psychology & Operations
    • Understanding disaster psychology
    • CERT Command Post operations
    • Incident Command System (ICS)
  • Basic Fire Suppression
    • Fire chemistry & fire suppression strategies
    • Team & personal safety techniques
    • Introduction to hazardous materials
    • Controlling utilities
  • Disaster Medical Operations I
    • Recognizing life threatening conditions
    • Basic first aid
    • Safety & sanitation
  • Disaster Medical Operations II
    • Organization of disaster medical operations
    • Simple triage and rapid treatment techniques
    • Establishing medical treatment areas
    • Recognizing & treating life threatening injuries
  • Terrorism
    • Understanding weapons & potential targets
    • Reporting suspicious activities
  • Light Search & Rescue
    • Rescue safety
    • Planning & sizing-up
    • Searching, lifting & cribbing techniques
    • Removing victims
Daviess County Kentucky

Install Daviess County Kentucky

Install this application on your home screen for quick and easy access when you’re on the go.

Just tap then “Add to Home Screen”