This course is a two day class with ½ hour breaks for lunch and dinner.  The drill associated with the class should be scheduled on the following Saturday, at noon and can usually be completed in two to four hours.  The cost per person for the class is typically $53.00, but varies depending on sponsorships and the Instructor's expenses.  Costs typically include; training manuals, individual safety equipment (CERT hard hat & vest, gloves, safety glasses, and dust mask), handouts, extinguisher recharge, and other costs associated with presenting the course.

Download CERT training and instructor manuals FREE from Citizen Corps CERT Site.

AVERT classes are open to any previously CERT trained Citizen who wishes to refresh their skills. Students needing to complete modules missed in a previous class must provide the previous class instructor's contact information to complete the certification requirements. The Introduction includes registration forms, municipal volunteer employee applications and liability waivers.

First Saturday (suggested schedule) 8:00 a - 10:00 a - Session 1 Introduction & Disaster Preparedness 10:00 a - 12:00 p - Session 2 Disaster Fire Suppression 12:00 p - 12:30 p - lunch break 12:30 p - 2:30 p - Session 3 Disaster Medical Operations, Part 1 2:30 p - 4:30 p - Session 4 Disaster Medical Operations, Part 2 4:30 p - 5:00 p - dinner break 5:00 p - 7:00 p - Session 5 Light Search & Rescue Operations 7:00 p - 9:00 p - Session 6 & 7 Team Organization & Disaster Psychology, take home Final Exam

Second Saturday (suggested schedule) 8:00 a - 11:00 a - Session 8 Terrorism and CERT, correct Final Exam 11:00 a - 12:00 p - lunch break 12:00 p - ??:?? pm - Session 9 Mock Disaster for Final Practical & Graduation.

Accelerated CERT Training (lesson plan)

• Session 1 - Introduction & Disaster Preparedness
• Session 2 - Disaster Fire Suppression
• Session 3 - Disaster Medical Operations 1
• Session 4 - Disaster Medical Operations 2
• Session 5 - Light Search & Rescue Operations
• Session 6 - Team Organization
• Session 7 - Disaster Psychology - take home Final Exam
• Session 8 - Terrorism and CERT - Review Final Exam
• Session 9 - Mock Disaster & Graduation

Session 1 - Introduction & Disaster Preparedness 1. When disaster strikes 2. Community preparedness 3. How CERT Teams operate 4. The CERT training program 5. Different Disasters 6. Who are "disaster workers 7. Different disaster threats 8. -film- "Preparing for the Big One" by LAFD 9. other disasters a. hurricanes and coastal storms b. tornadoes c. flood d. blizzards and winter storms e. hazardous materials (chemical and biological) 1. hazardous materials classifications and signs and placards f. impact on the infrastructure g. structural and non-structural hazards 10. disaster hazard mitigation 11. creating a family disaster plan 12. community preparations 13. disaster worker protection 14. CERT checklist 15. CERT recommended equipment and supplies 16. summary	Session 2 - Disaster Fire Suppression 1. fire chemistry 2. hazardous materials a. identifying and storage b. hazardous materials in storage (placards) 3. Preparing your home and office a. electrical b. natural gas c. flammable liquid 4. Sizing up the hazard 5. fire fighting resources a. extinguishers I. rating and labeling II. types III. when to use or not IV. how to use 6. fire suppression safety 7. fire pan exercise 8. summary	Session 3 - Disaster Medical Operations 1 1. how to recognize and treat life threatening conditions a. ABC's I. open the airway II. controlling bleeding III. recognizing and treating shock 2. Triage a. what is triage and how it works b. triage layout c. triage planning d. triage evaluation 3. hands on exercise 4. summary
Session 4 - Disaster Medical Operations 2 1. organization of disaster medical operations 2. major causes of injury 3. head to toe assessments 4. closed head, neck and spinal injuries 5. hands on exercise 6. establishing treatment areas a. treatment area layout b. treatment area organization c. treatment area planning 7. burns a. classifications b. treatment 8. wound care a. amputations b. impaled objects 9. fractures, sprains, and strains a. fractures b. dislocations c. sprains and strains d. nasal injuries 10. splinting 11. hypothermia, heatstroke, and heat exhaustion 12. frostbite 13. bites and stings 14. public health consideration a. hygiene b. sanitation c. water purification 15. hands on exercise 16. summary	Session 5 - Light Search & Rescue Operations 1. What is search and rescue? 2. the need for planning 3. resources 4. planning a. assessing needs and risks b. assessing resources 5. search and rescue size up a. step 1: gather facts b. step 2: assess damage c. step 3: identify resources d. step 4: establish rescue priorities e. step 5: develop a rescue plan f. step 6: conduct the rescue g. step 7: evaluate progress and problems h. safety considerations i. evacuations 6. conducting search operations a. locating potential victims b. search methodology 7. conduction rescue operations a. creating a sate rescue environment b. removing and moving victims 8. leveraging and cribbing 9. box cribbing 10. cribbing exercise 11. summary	Session 6 - Team Organization 1. pulling it all together 2. CERT organization and structure 3. ICS - Incident Command System 4. CERT decision making 5. CERT mobilization 6. rescuer safety 7. documentation 8. supplies and equipment 9. CERT cache 10. summary
Session 7 - Disaster Psychology 1. disaster psychology a. phases of a crisis b. post-event psychological and physiological symptoms c. humanizing the rescue operation d. emotional first aid for rescuers e. emotional first aid for victims 2. summary	Session 8 - Terrorism and CERT 1. Apply the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) principles to a suspected terrorism scenario. 2. Define terrorism using the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) definition. 3. Identify possible terrorism targets within your community. 4. Define the terms Biological, Nuclear, Incendiary, Chemical, and Explosive (B-NICE). 5. Identify the characteristics of B-NICE weapons. 6. Identify actions to take following a suspected terrorism event.	Session 9 - Mock Disaster