Contact: Gale Grant, CERT Coordinator

Gale.grant@rva.gov

804-928-6664

In 95% of emergencies, bystanders or victims themselves are the first to provide emergency assistance or to perform a rescue.

Experience proves that basic training in emergency preparedness and disaster survival improves the ability of citizens to survive until assistance arrives. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program trains you to prepare for and respond to emergencies in your community. The City of Richmond is a component of the national Citizen Corps Program, which aims to make communities safer, stronger and better prepared through education, training and volunteer service. On the local level, the City of Richmond CERT program maintains the City's commitment to safe communities.

The Richmond CERT program helps to be a more resilient city. The Office of Emergency Management coordinates the CERT Program.

Through CERT, you learn skills and concepts that prepare you to assist victims, organize volunteers and help your neighborhood recover in the aftermath of a disaster. CERT also teaches you how to prepare your home, your family, and your community to reduce the impact of a disaster. Upon completion of the CERT program, you will be part of a team of volunteers that is ready and able to take action to prepare and protect your community.

We offer a free CERT Basic Training Course (note: hyperlink to table training list) that consists of a combination of classroom and hands-on learning. You will train alongside other Richmond citizens as well as with participants from other communities. Classes are taught by the staff of the Office of Emergency Management, Richmond Fire Department and other community-based service providers.

CERT participants will learn about:

• Disaster Preparedness
• Fire Safety
• Disaster Medical Operations
• Light Search and Rescue
• CERT Organization
• Disaster Psychology
• Terrorism
• Disaster Simulation

Learn more about CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) here. 

Contact:  Gale Grant – CERT Program Coordinator, gale.grant@rva.gov, (804) 928-6664