The Carson City Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will offer a free Basic Training Academy this September and is accepting applications from people interested in volunteering.
CERT is a nationwide program of community volunteers who help prepare their local communities for critical events and support first responders in the event of a real-world incident.
The Basic Training Academy includes training in disaster preparedness, fire safety and utility control, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, light search and rescue, and terrorism.
The academy training consists of approximately 26 hours of classroom instruction delivered over 6 sessions in 2 weeks (Thursday, Sept. 10 and 17, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, Sept. 11 and 18, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 12 and 19, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), culminating with a practical demonstration of the learned skills. All sessions must be completed to graduate.
You do not have to live in Carson City to participate, and no special skills or prior training is needed to participate in this training. If you’re between 16 and 17 years old, you can attend with a signed parent’s permission release.
Community members who complete the CERT Basic Training Academy will be highly encouraged to participate in Carson City CERT activities throughout the year, which include attending training meetings once a month, participating in other training and exercises, providing preparedness materials to the community during public events, and supporting first responders during critical events.
Contact CERT at cert@carsoncity.gov and indicate that you are interested in the CERT Basic Training Academy in September 2026.
You will receive an application that must be completed and returned to cert@carsoncity.gov no later than Thursday, August 27, to be considered for a seat in the September academy; seats for the CERT Basic Training Academy are limited. For more information, go to www.carsoncity.gov/cert; an application can be found under Basic Training..
