The Ann Arbor Police Department/Office of Emergency Management in conjunction with the Washtenaw County Office of Emergency Management is now accepting applications for the Washtenaw County C.E.R.T. Team (Community Emergency Response Team) Training. The training starts March 27th.

The (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills. Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, CERT members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. CERT members also are encouraged to support emergency response agencies by taking a more active role in emergency preparedness projects in their community.

To become a CERT member, you will have to take the CERT training.  Applications for Washtenaw County residents are now being accepted at the Ann Arbor Police Department or on the Police webpage. 

This training course will run every Thursday night from March 27th to May 8th, from 6:30 – 9:30 pm with the final exercise and graduation on the morning May 17th.  The course is a combination of classroom sessions and hands-on training in scene assessment, fire safety, emergency medical response, team organization, disaster medical operations, and light search and rescue.  The course will also provide information on topics such as, local threats, hazards, county and city emergency management initiatives and incident command and terrorism.

Attendance at all classes is required for certificate of completion.

Citizens interested in participating in this course should call Crime Prevention Specialist Adele El-Ayoubi, ICPS, with the Ann Arbor Police Department at 734-994-8775 or log on to the City website at www.a2gov.org . The C.E.R.T. Training Course Application deadline is Friday, February 15, 2008 at 5:00 pm at the Ann Arbor Police Department.  All applicants agree to a background investigation and will be notified if they have been accepted into the course.  Seating is limited, so please submit your application as early as possible.

If you have already completed a CERT course in your workplace, reside within Washtenaw County, and are interested in joining the Washtenaw County Team, please look for instructions on the Ann Arbor City Website.