Teen CERT

Are you a High School student interested in disaster preparedness? Through the Teen CERT training, you can serve your community in a disaster and help take care of your family and neighbors.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program is a national program of volunteers trained in disaster preparedness and emergency response. To participate in Teen CERT, you must attend a High School in Marin County and if you are under 18, have your parent’s written permission to participate.

CERTs are volunteers so there is no requirement after completing the training to respond in a disaster. Your skills are useful at home with your family and those close to you.

To find out more about classes in your High School please email info@readymarin.org.

Why join

After a disaster, professional responders will be needed everywhere. In most emergencies, a neighbor or bystander, provides the first immediate assistance. That could be you!

Taking the Teen CERT training teaches you how to respond when others look to you for help.

The classes that we have held in the high schools have shown that our teens take emergency preparedness seriously with a high value placed on helping others in an emergency. The modules that focused on assisting others in a disaster, such as first aid, search & rescue and fire suppression were of keen interest.

Our impression after these classes reflected the important contribution that teens can provide to our communities in a disaster-response situation. 
Maggie Lang, Marin County CERT Coordinator (Retired) 

What you’ll do

We all have a role to play in keeping our communities safe. During a disaster, as a Teen CERT you might help organize volunteers, give assistance to neighbors, collect damage assessment information or provide shelter support.

Teen CERTs can also help in their neighborhoods and schools year-round by participating in CERT disaster drills and exercises, and assist in preparedness outreach to peers.

Course overview

It takes about 20 hours to complete the Teen CERT training, but the critical skills you learn will last your entire life. During the training, you will learn how to:

  • Organize and work as a team
  • Put out small fires
  • Conduct light search and rescue
  • Set up medical treatment areas
  • Assist people who are injured
  • Identify and anticipate hazards
  • Reduce fire hazards in the home and workplace

Sneak peek

  • Take a short Introduction to CERT online training for more detail about the course. It’s about 2 hours and will give you a good idea about the scope of the course.
  • Watch a short video about CERTs in Action.

Contact Us

If you are interested in taking the Teen CERT training, please Contact Us with your name and the school you attend. We will contact you when the next class is scheduled.

Also, we always need volunteers to act as victims in our CERT trainings. The photo is a San Rafael High School student pretending to be injured (fake blood) and being carried by CERTs to a medical area. Contact us if you’re interested.