The Homeland Security program Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is provided to the citizens of Orange County at no cost and is coordinated through the Orange County Office of Emergency Management's Citizen Corps Council. Team Criteria requires at least fifteen people. CERT grant funding is through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and program compliance is directed by the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Emergency response organizations understand that following a major disaster there may not be enough resources or agency capabilities to respond to every emergency call up to 72 hours. Responders must prioritize the use of their response resources. Accepting this challenge, agencies appreciate that training and participation in a CERT Drill (jpeg 2500K) empowers family members, neighbors, and the community to care for themselves until additional help becomes available. 

CERT connects the professional response community with the people they serve. The training emphasizes mitigation, preparedness activities and response skills for the hazards that the community may face.

Training covers the following topics:

• Session I: Disaster Preparedness: 
  Addresses hazards to which people are vulnerable in their community : hurricanes, tornadoes, hazardous materials, wildfires, and terrorist actions. 

• Session II: Fire Suppression:
  Covers basic fire chemistry, hazardous materials, and fire suppression, with an emphasis on the safe use of fire extinguishers on a small fire. Situation size up, and Utilities control are also discussed in this unit. 

• Session III: Disaster medical operations, triage and treating life-threatening injuries using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques. Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding, and shock.

• Session IV: Disaster medical operations, assessment, treatment, and hygiene
  Covers Evaluating Patients by doing Head to toe assessments, establishing a medical treatment area, performing basic first aid, and practicing in a safe and sanitary manner.

• Session V: Light search and rescue
  Participants learn about search and rescue planning, area size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques (jpeg 2500K), and most importantly, PERSONAL SAFETY)

• Session VI: Team organization and disaster psychology
  Addresses CERT organization and management principles and the need for documentation. Covers psychological signs and physical symptoms experienced by disaster victims and rescue workers.

• Session VII: Terrorism and CERT
  Applies CERT principles to a suspected terrorism scenario, defines terrorism using FBI definitions, identifies terrorism targets in your community, defines the terms Biological, Nuclear, Incendiary, Chemical, and Explosive B-NICE, and identifies actions to take following a suspected terrorism event.

CERT course participants are issued the following equipment: 
One back pack containing reflective hard hat, protective eyewear, reflective vest, leather work gloves, flashlight, "light sticks", signal whistle, first aid kit, 4 in 1 tool.

For more information about the Orange County CERT and BERT training programs please contact our office at 407-836-9140, or email CERT Coordinator.

The Building Emergency Response Team (BERT) training covers the same topics as CERT with the addition of Continuity of Business.

Our BERT program is similar to our CERT program but is specially geared toward businesses and commercial building occupants.

The BERT program trains office employees to assist each other until first responders arrive on the scene. This course is modeled after the CERT Program and is designed to meet the specific needs of large facilities and businesses.

For more information about the Orange County CERT and BERT training programs please contact our office at 407-836-9140, or by Email. 

Occasionally emergency service personnel will not be able to help everyone immediately. Individuals can make a difference when trained how to prevent further harm and to save their lives, the lives of others and to protect personal property.

CERT training covers basic skills and team organization that are important to know in a disaster. Emergency services may be delayed or not immediately available. As a CERT member with training and practice  working as a team, you will be able to do the greatest good for the greatest number after a disaster, while protecting yourself from becoming a victim. Your ability to recover depends on your planning.

The Registration for CERT training requires at least fifteen people interested in forming a team for this training program. Training is designed to prepare groups to work in unison to help themselves, their families, their neighbors and their businesses in the event of a catastrophic disaster.

For more information about the Orange County CERT and BERT training programs please contact our office at 407-836-9140, or by Email. 

Other CERT Links:

• FEMA Emergency Management Institute CERT
• Florida CERT
• Citizen Corps

Over 16 Orange County Florida Community Emergency Response Teams gathered at the Children's Safety Village to network and practice their response skills with new friends. These volunteers participated in the Orange County Citizen Corps training program and are qualified to attend this annual exercise. Each have attended the 23 hour course with their Community Emergency Response Team of fifteen or more members.

Photo Gallery:

2008 CERT Drill  (jpeg 2500K)

Extrication with CERT (jpeg 2500K)

Fire Suppression  (jpeg 2700K)