The Arlington Community Emergency Response Team (ArlCERT) fall 2020 virtual online basic training with live instructors begins on September 9 in English, and training in Spanish in November.

Sponsored by Arlington County's Emergency Management (ACEM), Fire Department (ACFD) and Police Department (ACPD), and following a FEMA curriculum, ArlCERT has trained over 900 community members—including 44 online in May—who reside, work, attend school, or volunteer extensively in Arlington. CERT training educates volunteers on disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. These skills allow community members to step up when first responders are delayed or overwhelmed by the magnitude of the disaster.

ArlCERT volunteers have been activated by ACEM many times, including (i) to conduct damage assessments, distribute ice, and assist with traffic control after Hurricane Isabel in September 2003; (ii) to conduct community damage assessments after the June 2012 derecho and (iii) the massive flooding in July 2019; (iv) to help neighbors clear 3’ from fire hydrants during winter storms to facilitate emergency fire response; (v) to act as survivor role-players to support first responder training events; and, currently, (vi) to distribute food to those quarantined in a county hotel during the coronavirus pandemic.

If you are interested in taking this free training, please visit https://emergency.arlingtonva.us/get-involved/cert/ and click the CERT Info Request button (CERT en español: https://emergency.arlingtonva....de-emergencia-cert/).