The Teen Community Emergency Response Team (Teen CERT) Program educates youth ages 15 to 18 about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.   Learn how to protect yourself, your loved ones, your school, and your community.  

Over the course of the Teen CERT program, you will learn the most up-to-date information through hands-on training in basic disaster preparedness, use of a fire extinguisher, disaster medical care, first aid training, search, and rescue techniques, and neighborhood team building. Participants of the program will learn lifesaving skills, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Community Emergency Response Team In Action Video 

The course will be taught 9:00am to 3:30pm Monday through Thursday with a break for lunch (bring your own).  You must attend all sessions and successfully complete the final disaster exercise in order to graduate .

Monday, July 31      

- Disaster Preparedness (Unit 1)

- CERT Organization (Unit 2)

- Disaster Medical Operations (Units 3-4)

Tuesday, August 1

- Disaster Psychology (Unit 5)

- Fire Safety and Utilities Control (Unit 6)

Wednesday, August 2          

- Light Search and Rescue (Unit 7)

- Terrorism and Hazardous Materials Safety (Unit 8)

Thursday, August 3

- CERT Communications / Forms / Radios

- Course Review & Final Exam (Unit 9)

- Disaster Simulation / Exercise

All sessions will be taught at Menlo Park Fire District's Fire USAR warehouse at 2470 Pulgas Avenue, East Palo Alto.

ALL students MUST have a parent/guardian-signed permission/waiver signed before the class begins (you may bring this to the first class). Also, please fill out the  "pre-academy" surveys - one from the student and one from the adult/guardian. 

Though not required, you may want to download a copy of the CERT manual by clicking this link.

Free to those who live or work in Atherton, East Palo Alto, and Menlo Park age 15 to 18 years old. ALL students MUST have a parent/guardian-signed permission/waiver signed before the class begins.

Since we will be working in close proximity to each other, masks are encouraged, but not required.

We will be limiting the class size to no more than 20 students.