Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services (NDDES) administers the North Dakota Citizen Corps Council, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Teen CERT programs.  The mission of the North Dakota Citizen Corps Council is to promote readiness in every community. 

CERT educates people about disaster preparedness and provides basic disaster response training.  The 20-hour CERT course is taught in the local community by a trained team of first responders who have completed a CERT Train-the-Trainer course. CERT training includes disaster psychology, basic fire suppression, elementary disaster medical operations and light search and rescue.

What You’ll Do

We all have a role to play in keeping our communities safe—no matter where you live, no matter who you are, no matter how you participate. What role will you play? Once you complete your CERT training, you can participate in or lead a variety of activities.

During an emergency, your Teen CERT could: organize volunteers, assist in evacuations, give assistance to survivors, provide damage assessment information, provide shelter support, and assist with crowd control.

What You’ll Learn

It takes about 20 hours to complete the CERT training. But the critical skills you learn will last your entire life. During the training, you will learn to: put out small fires, conduct light search and rescue, assist those who are injured, set up medical treatment areas, assist emergency responders, identify and anticipate hazards, reduce fire hazards in the home and workplace, and help reduce survivor stress.

Teen CERT

Lead Yourself | Lead Others | Lead the Community

Teen CERT is a program that can be run in middle and high schools and teaches participants what to do during disasters and emergencies. Students leave the program better able to lead themselves, family, and friends to safety through emergency situations.

Participants learn the basics of incident command, fire suppression, disaster medical operations, and search and rescue. Units are taught by local public safety officials like Emergency Managers, Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, Dispatch, and EMTs. 

The Teen CERT program teaches kids how to be safe in disasters and emergencies through knowledge and hands-on training, as well as with exposing students to possible fulfilling careers or long-term volunteer service in the public safety sector. 

See how Jamestown and Valley City schools chose to implement Teen CERT in their high school health classes in the videos below.