The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. CERT offers a consistent, nationwide approach to volunteer training and organization that professional responders can rely on during disaster situations, allowing them to focus on more complex tasks.

Members of Folsom CERT are volunteer members of the Folsom Fire Department family. We provide thousands of hours of volunteer time yearly performing such missions as:

- First Aid for City events such as The Folsom Pro Rodeo and Folsom Live.
- Search and Rescue for Missing At-Risk Persons.
- Rest and rehabilitation for firefighters on-scene of major fires.
- Deployment to wildfire base camps in a logistics support role.
- Cooling and Clean-Air stations.
- Force-multiplication in the event of a Mass-Casualty Incident (triage, medical treatment).
- Teach the CERT Basic Training Academy.
- And much more!

Above-and-beyond the CERT Basic Training provided to the public, additional training is available for more advanced topics such as the following:

- Advanced First Aid and Basic Life Support, equivalent to an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR).
- Low Angle Rope Rescue.
- Firefighter Rehabilitation.
- Radio Communications.
- Search and Rescue.
- Water Awareness (swift water self-rescue).
- And much more!

• Complete the CERT Basic Training Academy.
• Complete some additional FEMA, Red Cross, and State OES online courses.
• Pass a background check.
• Interview with the leadership team.

The City of Folsom offers the CERT Basic Training Academy twice a year. The classes prepare citizens to assist family members and neighbors until emergency responders can arrive. This includes teaching disaster preparedness and mitigation. The Academy is free, and there is no obligation to become an active member of Folsom CERT.

Contact the Folsom CERT volunteer coordinator at contact@folsomcert.org for more information.

The CERT concept was developed and implemented by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in California. Further, it confirmed the need for training civilians to meet their immediate needs. CERT became a national program in 1993. There are now CERT programs in all 50 states, including many tribal nations and U.S. territories. Each is unique to its community, and all are essential to building a Culture of Preparedness in the United States. There are over 2,700 local CERT programs nationwide and more than 600,000 people have trained since CERT became a national program.