The Coronado Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is a program that trains citizens to prepare for and respond safely to disasters. The goal is to better prepare the community for disasters and to help serve neighborhoods when emergency services are overwhelmed.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, using the model created by the Los Angeles City Fire Department in 1985, began promoting the nationwide use of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) concept in 1994. Since then CERT teams have been established in hundreds of communities nationwide. Coronado CERT was established in 1997, and more than 300 citizens have been trained.
CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people they serve.
If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community's professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills they learned during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies.