FEMA Community Emergency Response Team

FEMA Community Emergency Response Team
Name	Community Emergency Response Team
Formation	1980s
Headquarters	United States
Parent organization	Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA Community Emergency Response Team

The Community Emergency Response Team program provides localized disaster preparedness and response training for civilian volunteers affiliated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the American Red Cross, and state and local emergency management agencies. Established after lessons from the Cold War-era civil defense and influenced by the response frameworks of the National Incident Management System, the program trains participants in disaster medical operations, urban search and rescue techniques, fire suppression fundamentals, disaster psychology, and incident command procedures. Volunteers support responses to hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and mass-casualty events alongside partners such as the Department of Transportation, the National Guard, municipal fire departments, and public health departments.

History

The program's origins trace to civil defense strategies of the Cold War and community preparedness initiatives adopted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the 1980s, incorporating doctrines from the National Incident Management System, the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, and lessons from major events like Hurricane Katrina, the Northridge earthquake, and the Loma Prieta earthquake. Early pilots involved collaboration with the American Red Cross, local fire departments, and county emergency management offices. Expansion of the program followed policy shifts after the September 11 attacks and incorporation into federal preparedness grants distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency regional offices and state emergency management agencies. Subsequent growth paralleled developments in incident command system doctrine and interagency exercises with the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

Organization and Governance

Local CERT units are typically chartered by county or municipal emergency management agencies, state emergency management agencies, or recognized non-governmental organizations such as the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Oversight aligns with the Federal Emergency Management Agency regional structure and involves coordination with state governors' offices, state police agencies, and municipal fire department and law enforcement leadership. Governance uses models from the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System to define roles like CERT coordinator, team leader, and operations chief; teams also liaise with public health departments and emergency medical services providers. Funding streams may include grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, philanthropic support from foundations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and municipal emergency preparedness budgets administered through county boards of supervisors or city councils.

Training and Certification

Core curriculum derives from FEMA course materials used by Federal Emergency Management Agency training centers and adapts modules from the United States Fire Administration, the National Fire Academy, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The standard CERT course covers disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, fire safety and suppression, disaster psychology, and basic incident command, frequently delivered at community colleges, municipal training centers, or National Guard armories. Certification processes vary by state and locality; many jurisdictions issue volunteer credentials endorsed by state emergency management agencies, sometimes linked to background checks coordinated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's fingerprint-based systems and state criminal information centers. Advanced training and specialty certifications may involve partnerships with the National Disaster Medical System, Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces, and academic programs at institutions such as Johns Hopkins University or the University of California, Berkeley.

Volunteer Roles and Responsibilities

CERT volunteers perform roles that mirror functions in the Incident Command System structure: team leaders coordinate operations and logistics, medical officers provide triage and basic first aid under guidance from local emergency medical services, fire suppression teams support municipal fire department crews with containment and hazard mitigation, and search teams conduct light urban search and rescue tasks consistent with standards used by Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces. Administrative volunteers manage volunteer registration, credentialing, and liaison duties with agencies such as the American Red Cross and local health departments. Responsibilities include pre-incident preparedness activities like community outreach tied to initiatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, participating in multi-agency exercises with the National Guard and state emergency management agencies, and post-incident recovery support coordinated with county emergency management offices.

Operations and Deployment

CERT activations occur through requests from municipal or county emergency management agencies, state emergency management authorities, or recognized non-governmental partners during incidents including hurricane response, wildfire containment, flood relief, and mass-casualty incidents. Deployments are executed within the framework of the Incident Command System and coordinated with entities such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency regional offices, state emergency management agencies, fire department incident commanders, and emergency medical services dispatch centers. Teams may integrate into multi-jurisdictional task forces during large-scale events like responses to Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Maria, or major urban incidents, supporting logistics, mass care, shelter operations managed with the American Red Cross, and community damage assessment efforts used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster declarations.

Partnerships and Community Integration

CERT programs maintain partnerships with municipal fire departments, county emergency management offices, the American Red Cross, local public health departments, state emergency management agencies, and academic institutions for training and research collaborations. Community integration includes outreach with neighborhood associations, faith-based organizations, and volunteer centers to increase enrollment and resilience in the spirit of programs promoted by the Department of Homeland Security and federal preparedness initiatives. Collaboration with corporate partners and philanthropic organizations such as the Red Cross's corporate supporters and foundations supports equipment caches, training facilities, and volunteer management systems used by local and state CERT units. Ongoing evaluation and program development draw on after-action reports from events like Hurricane Katrina and exercises conducted with the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency regional exercise programs.

Category:Emergency management in the United States