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Florissant ValleyFire Protection District

Services & Safety

CERT Training

In partnership with the Florissant Police Department, the District offers Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training several times each year.

What CERT is

CERT training builds a partnership between emergency services and the community. If a disaster overwhelms or delays professional responders, trained CERT members can apply what they have learned to help save and sustain lives until professional help arrives. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began promoting the CERT concept nationwide in 1994, and CERTs have since been established in hundreds of communities.

What you will learn

  • Identify the hazards most likely to affect your home and community.
  • Understand the role of CERT in immediate response.
  • Prepare for a disaster and reduce fire hazards at home and work.
  • Apply basic fire-suppression techniques safely as a team.
  • Open airways, control bleeding, and treat for shock.
  • Conduct triage, perform head-to-toe assessments, and set up a treatment area.
  • Apply basic treatment for a variety of wounds.
  • Plan and size up potential search-and-rescue situations.
  • Search a structure using common techniques.
  • Use safe techniques for debris removal and victim extrication.
  • Protect rescuers during search and rescue.

Who should attend

Neighborhoods, businesses, communities of faith, scouting organizations, school staff and students, clubs, and other organizations.

Course structure

CERT training is 21 hours of classroom instruction, one evening a week for six weeks, taught by personnel from the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District and the Florissant Police Department.

  1. IDisaster Preparedness
  2. IIDisaster Medical Operations
  3. IIIFire Suppression and Hazardous Materials
  4. IVLight Search and Rescue
  5. VSkills Session
  6. VITeam Organization and Disaster Psychology

How to sign up

For more information or to register, contact Sergeant Kevin Boschert, Florissant Police Department, at (314) 831-7000.