CERT – Community Emergency Response Team
Community Emergency Response Team members are trained volunteers who have learned how to take care of themselves, their families and their neighbors.
To become a CERT, members undergo 20 hours of training and work under the leadership of the County Emergency Management Agency Director or municipal emergency management personnel.
Depending on their training, Maine CERTs:
- Provide back-up (ham radio) communication assistance within the Emergency Operations Centers during an emergency.
- Assist with a search and rescue operation.
- Provide shelter management both for families and their pets during an evacuation.
- Assist with sand bagging during a flooding incident or provide traffic control.
CERT Teams provide critical support to professional first responders; fire, police and emergency medical services.
CERTs have proven to be an active and vital part of their communities’ preparedness and response capability. Across the country, CERTs have been used to:
- Distribute and/or install smoke alarms and batteries to the elderly and disabled.
- Assist with evacuations and traffic control.
- Promote community awareness of potential hazards and preparedness measures.
- Supplement staffing at special events, such as parades.
- Act as victims in training exercises.