CERT - Community Emergency
Response Team Article

Are you ready for any disaster? Does your family have the latest information on emergency preparedness? Would you be able to help your family and or neighborhood after an Earthquake?

If you answered No to any of these questions then you're like many other residents that have good intentions of being ready, but just haven't taken the time to do it. Well, now the City of West Covina is offering a class to give you all the information that you need and some hands on training in handling emergency situations.

The West Covina Fire Department is offering a three-day class on how you can prepare and help your family and friends. The program is called C.E.R.T. and it stands for Community Emergency Response Team.

The three days of training offers classroom and hands on training in disaster preparedness, use of a fire extinguisher, first aid training, search and rescue techniques, team building, and the recently added module on terrorism. The program was originally designed by L.A. City Fire Department as training for earthquake response; it has spread across the Nation and has grown to incorporate an all-risk format. The C.E.R.T. curriculum has been adopted and supported by Federal Emergency Management Administration.

After training, graduates are better prepared to assist themselves, their family, and their community after a disaster. The program is formulated to give community groups, faith based groups, and neighborhood associations the information they would need to form response teams.

The fee for the course is $10. The next class starts Saturday, June 9th, June 16th and June 23rd, 2007. To register, call the City of West Covina Community Services at (626) 919-6966.

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