Dallas Community Emergency Response Team

Volunteers become CERT members upon completion of all class sessions taught by local emergency management and professional first responders. Each class is approximately 2 ½ hours and includes practical and team-building exercises.

The Dallas CERT training program includes the following sessions:

Unit 1- Disaster Preparedness and Intro to Emergency Management

Unit 2- Fire Safety

Unit 3- Disaster Medical Operations- Triage and Treating Life Threatening Injuries

Unit 4- Disaster Medical Operations- Assessment, Treatment and Hygiene

Unit 5-Light Search and Rescue

Unit 6- Team Organization

Unit 7- Disaster Psychology

Unit 8- Terrorism and CERT

Unit 9- Final Disaster Exercise

The final session includes a disaster simulation to give volunteers the ability to apply their newly acquired skills in a simulated environment. Upon graduation CERTs receive a backpack with start up supplies, a certificate of completion, and a Dallas CERT t-shirt.

In addition to this initial basic training, CERT volunteers are offered continuing education classes in order to refresh and enhance their skills. Since its inception in March 2007, CERT members have completed the following continuing education classes:

Ham Radio Operator’s Technician Class
Incident Stress Management
Strategic National Stockpile (large-scale medicine and antidote distribution)
And several disaster exercises

Current Class Schedule