News & Events
NYC CERT Promotes Community Preparedness
The NYC CERT Program, coordinated by the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is an 11-week training program that focuses on emergency preparedness as a major staple of the program. On the first night of training participants receive a Ready New York presentation—a program developed by NYC OEM—where individuals learn about the common hazards that affect New Yorkers and how to prepare for them. Throughout the remaining weeks, participants receive the CERT basic response skills training. The course emphasizes readiness focused on the urban environment. For example, CERT members learn how to navigate subway tunnels, bridges, and high-rise buildings as part of a module developed by NYC OEM and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
Currently, there are 42 trained CERTs in NYC, each unique in its resources and potential. The CERTs network with local response agencies to determine additional need for support during locally occurring emergencies and participate in preparedness activities and various large-scale interagency disaster drills and exercises. They will also play an important role in vaccination centers during public health emergencies and evacuation centers and shelters during coastal storm events in New York City.
NYC CERTs also play a large role in getting out the word on emergency preparedness, especially to more vulnerable populations (non-English speaking, the elderly and people with disabilities). The newly trained Central Harlem CERT (Manhattan Community Board 10 CERT) recently had its Team Chief and Deputy Chiefs featured on a local Harlem radio station, as part of a weekly radio series addressing preparedness in the black community. You can hear the first of their weekly radio discussions by clicking on the following link: