Community Emergency Response Team training is almost mandatory for any medium to large company.  In a disaster, local emergency responders are most likely to be overwhelmed and unable to respond to multiple needs quickly.  Having your own employees trained may help save other lives and property.

With ongoing ‘budget cuts’ at federal, state and local levels, area-wide major disasters, like earthquakes, wildfires, or even terrorist attacks, are likely to tap out local community emergency resources – making it difficult if not impossible for fire and medical service personnel to meet the demand for services.

Factors such as number of victims, communication failures, and road blockages can prevent individuals from accessing emergency services they have come to expect at a moment’s notice through 911.

People will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet their immediate life saving and life sustaining needs. That’s why it’s imperative those who must or want to help have the knowledge and training to make the greatest impact – without jeopardizing their own safety.

In the early 1980s, the Los Angeles Fire Department had created a Disaster Preparedness Division and by 1985 was developing a training program to handle mass emergency needs by training local private citizens and government employees to be able to assist during a major disaster.  The program was put to test less than two years later with the Whittier Narrows earthquake, which further confirmed the need for training civilians to meet immediate disaster needs.

Over the years, this training program – known as CERT, or Community Emergency Response Team – has continued to be refined and improved.  The training covers several important areas:  (1) what to expect following a major disaster in terms of immediate services, (2) responsibility for mitigation and preparedness, (3) training in life saving skills with emphasis on decision making, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number by offering immediate help to victims until professional services arrive.

JB Safety Services, Inc. 24-hour CERT training program covers Fire Safety, Disaster Medical training, Search and Rescue, Disaster Psychology and Terrorism. Whether you need this training for only a few or dozens of employees, we can set up the training at your job site or place of business, and can modify it in terms of number of hours per day based on your specific business needs.

The CERT course will benefit any person who takes it and will prepare individuals to respond to and cope with the aftermath of a disaster by helping to provide immediate assistance to victims in the area, organize spontaneous volunteers who have not had the training, and collect disaster intelligence that will assist professional responders with prioritization and allocation of resources following a disaster.

Contact JB Safety Services, Inc. to have your interested employees CERT trained!  It’s an investment that will pay off in huge dividends for your business and for the safety and welfare of your company personnel, if or when disaster strikes.