Immediately following a major disaster such as an earthquake, professional first-responders will be needed in many areas and may not be able to respond to all needs immediately.

To provide you with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to assist others prior to professional first-responder arrival, the Federal Way CERT program uses materials developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). This fast-paced, hands-on, 28 hour course is delivered over eight consecutive weeks and is facilitated by a team of Fire, Medical and City professionals. The course curriculum focuses on saving lives and protecting property immediately following a disaster. Classes typically run each Thursday evening, with a culminating drill/graduation on the last Saturday of class that typically runs from morning through lunch.

The CERT course curriculum includes the following subject areas:

Disaster Preparedness & Hazard Identification

In this section, participants are introduced to personal preparednessand the local hazards that can impact the Federal Way area.

Team Organization

Police and Fire Departments use the Incident Command System (ICS) to organize first responders at the scene of an incident.  This class teaches citizens the basic principles of ICS and how it is applied within a CERT team organization.

Disaster Fire Suppression

This session addresses fire prevention and dealing with small fires.  The course covers identifying and reducing potential fire hazards, basic fire suppression strategy, firefighting resources and firefighting techniques.  Attendees will get the opportunity to use a real fire extinguisher.

Disaster Medical Operations (I and II)

Disaster medical operations is taught in two sessions.  These classes include information on triage techniques, patient assessment, and how to treat life threatening injuries. 

Light Search and Rescue Operations

Information in this session includes techniques for lifting, cribbing, and victim removal; search and rescue priorities and resources; and equipment needs.

Disaster Psychology

This session describes the post disaster emotional environment for victims and responders and methods to meet the challenges involved.  The class is taught by a police/fire department chaplain who has years of professional experience pertaining to the subject of Disaster Psychology.

Damage Assessment

This module covers information for assessing and reporting damage to buildings and infrastructure, construction-related hazards, and rescuer safety. 

Practice Drill and Graduation

The final CERT session involves a brief review of information followed by a hands-on practice drill in which participants exercise some of the skills they have learned in previous class sessions.

CERT participants receive a student manual, CERT kit (including basic response items), and a certificate of completion.

Links to Other Training and Information