Tell me about CERT!
Denton County CERT is an organization of citizen volunteers which reports to the Denton County Office of Emergency Management. CERT members are trained in disaster preparedness, medical triage and treatments, light search and rescue, and other skills.
The team assists the community by providing disaster preparedness education to the public through safety fairs, assisting first responders in searching for missing persons, and can respond during a disaster to assist emergency services responders.
In addition to disaster response, we also asssit in..
Missing Person Searches
Public Safety Fairs
Firefighter Rehab
And many others
Emergency Services (Fire, EMS, Police) can be overwhelmed and their resources stretched in the immediate hours after a disaster. CERT is trained to step in and assist (upon request) in the immediate hours after the disaster as well as collecting damage assessment information.
There is a job for everyone!!!
Sounds Great!! So how do I join CERT?
It starts by taking the Free Basic CERT Course
The next Basic CERT class is October 11, 12, 18, and 19th 2024
(Friday classes are 6 PM to 10 PM and Saturday classes are 8 AM to 5 PM)
You do need to attend all four days to receive completion credit for the course
We hold the Basic CERT course twice each year. The course is approximately twenty hours long and is free.
Look at our main page for information on when the next Basic CERT course will be held. Contact Brenda Gormley (Brenda.Gormley@dentoncounty.com) if you would like to more information.
BASIC CERT Course Overview
The CERT Basic Course is delivered in the community by a team of first responders, and other qualified volunteers. The organization and timing of training and meeting varies from program to program. It is often broken up into two to four hour blocks over a series of evenings or weekends.
Disaster Preparedness: Addresses hazards specific to the community. Materials cover actions that participants and their families take before, during and after a disaster as well as an overview of CERT and local laws governing volunteers.
Fire Suppression: Covers fire chemistry, hazardous materials, fire hazards and fire suppression strategies. However, the thrust of this session is the safe use of fire extinguishers, controlling utilities and extinguishing a small fire.
Medical Operations Part I: Participants practice diagnosing and treating airway obstruction, bleeding and shock by using simple triage and rapid treatment techniques.
Medical Operations Part II: Covers evaluating patients by doing a head to toe assessment, establishing a medical treatment area and performing basic first aid.
Light Search and Rescue Operations: Participants learn about search and rescue planning, size-up, search techniques, rescue techniques and rescuer safety.
Psychology and Team Organization: Covers signs and symptoms that might be experienced by the disaster victim and workers, and addresses CERT organization and management.
Course Review and Disaster Simulation: Participants review and practice the skills that they have learned during the previous six sessions in a disaster activity.