North Coast CERT began in 2006 as a local effort to create a community of prepared individuals. Since then we have trained more than 100 people in the North Coast region.

The people who make NC-CERT happen are all regular people like you. Each of us began by taking the CERT Basic Training course. The roles we now play as individuals within organization have evolved based on the specific skillset of the individual.

The NC-CERT organization operates utilizing the Incident Command System (ICS), the national standard for coordinated emergency response. As such, NC-CERT members are able to function alongside professional responders or as standalone teams as a part of the overall command structure.

CERTs are everyday people who have made the decision that preparedness is a high priority for themselves, their family, home and workplace. Preparation is the best tool to mitigate the natural disasters we face in this rugged part of the Northern California coast.

Because learning is a family adventure, we encourage the participation of teenagers with their parents. Teaching kids the CERT curriculum is an excellent way to share the experience as well as to instill good emergency skills from an early age.

Becoming a CERT member is fun, easy, and requires only 20 hours of training to start. CERT training teaches you how to think in an emergency. We provide the framework for you to build a prepared household, workplace and neighborhood.

Physical ability and strength are not required. In fact, many CERTs are senior citizens, teenagers and/or people with disabilities. Maintaining a community support team requires people of all backgrounds with diverse talents to work together to achieve the common goal: to do the greatest good for the greatest number.