Did you know?...

• Most people are not prepared to deal with even the most minor medical emergencies, whether due to disaster or encountered in everyday life.
  
   

• After a major emergency, citizens will come forth in groups to help, but without proper training these people can expose themselves to potential injury and even death.
  
   

• In the aftermath of a major disaster, such as Hurricane Andrew, emergency crews are quickly overwhelmed, causing delays of hours or even days.

The Seminole County Department of Public Safety realized that, when properly trained, citizens can become a tremendous resource to the emergency response. As a result, the Seminole County Department of Public Safety introduced a citizen training program known as C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team). The program is designed to focus on hurricanes, tornadoes and other major emergencies common to Central Florida, as well as training the student to deal with everyday emergencies.

The Basic CERT course lasts just 8 weeks and takes 2 1/2 to 3 hours per week of class and practical time.

MODULE 1:
Students will become aware of various types of major emergencies that could affect Central Florida, the Emergency Management system, and the process of   disaster recovery.

MODULE 2:
Teaches basic fire suppression, team and personal safety considerations, an introduction to the problems associated with hazardous materials  incidents.

MODULE 3:
Disaster medical operations, recognizing and treating life threatening injuries.

MODULE 4:
Triage and sorting patients, splinting, bandaging, and basic patient care.

MODULE 5:
Teaches light search and rescue operations, size-up, search methods, patterns, and safety precautions.

MODULE 6:
Focus on C.E.R.T. operations  before a disaster or emergency incident: long term planning, how to organize a neighborhood, evaluate available        resources and identify people with    special needs.

MODULE 7:
Deals with post-disaster operations, counseling, stress management. 

MODULE 8:
Introduction to terrorism, response to a    terrorist event, how to prevent terrorism in the community, United States threat levels.