CERT San Diego (Community Emergency Response Team)


Hi and welcome to the CERT San Diego information page! 

CERT San Diego is the City of San Diego's local program (different than the County of San Diego).  We train citizens in disaster preparedness and readiness and do this through a number of methods: 

"Train and Retain" (volunteers complete the 5-day CERT Basic Academy and choose to become active members),

"Catch and Release" (the general public who complete the 5-day CERT Basic Academy, but not interested in ongoing training required to become an active member),

"Listos Aware and Prepare" (a one day, 8 hour training-still in development), and

"Community Outreach Workshops" (one and two hour workshops that discuss core preparedness principles).  

For the "Train and Retain" and the "Catch and Release" academies, we conduct a final drill.  Volunteer Patients are needed to play people injured by a disaster of some sort (like an earthquake, tsunami, wildfire, chemical exposure, etc...).  Role players to bring a reality to our practice disaster response that using injury cards cannot deliver.  If you want to spend a fun Saturday or Sunday wearing moulage make up, being rescued, and getting snacks and cake at the end of your shift, then CERT San Diego Volunteer Patient is the right volunteer opportunity for you! 

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Non-CERT Volunteer Opportunities

Future Academy Notification Email List

Are you interested in learning disaster preparedness skills that may help you prepare for and recover from a major natural disaster?  Please consider signing up to be notified of when the next CERT SD Academy dates are announced.

Priority registration is given to those who live in the city of San Diego.  However we invite our out-of-town students to create a profile and come on the first day of class. If there are seats available, out-of-town students are welcome to join our academy.

As you consider this opportunity, here is a description of the requirements.

     Students must be at least 18 years old. 

     Attendance on all four days of the academy is mandatory for graduation.

Classes are held on two consecutive weekends (on both Saturday and Sunday) from approximately 9:30am until 4pm each day.  Classes will start promptly at 10am.  The location of the training will be provided upon successful registration.  There is no cost for the training and we provide safety gear and classroom materials.

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Future CERT Academy Email Sign-Up 1

Non-CERT Volunteer Roles

These roles include "Volunteer Victim" and "Moulage Artist".  

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Academy 44 VOLUNTEER Patient 1
Volunteer Patients 1

Mission Statement

Do the greatest good for the greatest number of people.