Community Emergency Response Team

The City of Concord Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program educates volunteers about disaster preparedness for the hazards that may impact Contra Costa County 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.

Cert Training

CERT training consists of approximately 20 hours of classroom instruction and a final skills/disaster exercise.

BASIC CERT TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE

Registration for the Fall class is now closed.

A Basic CERT course will be held at Concord PD in Spring, 2024 over three weekends on April 13/14; April 20/21; and April 27/28, 9am to 1pm, each day. Subjects covered include personal and home preparedness for all-hazard emergencies, radio communications, utility, hazardous materials, fire safety, disaster medical response, and pet preparedness. The schedule includes a 4-hour skills/incident exercise on April 28. Participants must attend all classes, including the exercise, to graduate. Download the registration form here.

Check out these photos from our recent classes!

Meet our instructors!

^{L to R: Lisa Martin, Theresa Johnson, Trish Beirne, Joanne Morrison}

Trish Beirne is the Emergency & Volunteer Services Manager for the City of Concord, assigned to the Concord Police Department, Concord CERT’s sponsoring agency. Trish is a CERT Instructor and the Program Manager for Concord CERT.

Theresa Johnson is a regulatory Quality Assurance and Quality Control specialist. She is a CERT Instructor and is the Youth Training Coordinator for Concord CERT.

Lisa Martin works with the Special Students Program at a local junior college. She is a CERT Instructor and carries a HAM radio license. She is part of the Napa Community Animal Response Team (CART) and is the Small Animal Shelter Lead. She has deployed to 7+ fire incidents since 2017 in our local Northern California region.

Joanne Morrison is a Community Specialist at Concord Police Department. She is a CERT Instructor and deployed with CERT to the Tubbs/Santa Rosa Fire in 2017.

David Pintado (not pictured) is a Career Technical Education Health Science and Medical Technology Teacher at Mt. Diablo High School in Concord. He is a CERT Instructor, Public Health College Professor, CPR/First Aid, Basic Life Support certified instructor, and Stop the Bleed Instructor.

CONCORD CERT VIRTUAL MEETINGS

CERT meetings are currently being held virtually from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month.

dISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Are you ready for a disaster? Preparation can save you and others. Getting ready is much simpler than you think. Doing small things today can make a big difference if there is a disaster. Download the Listos Disaster Ready Guide for tips and tools to help you prepare and stay safe during a disaster: