Classes / Register

CERT Basic Training Classes

Fall 2024 classes are now forming

Basic CERT classes are offered twice each year. These classes are open to residents and employees of the Lamorinda area. This includes the cities of Lafayette and Orinda, the Town of Moraga and the unincorporated areas of Canyon and Briones and that part of Saranap that is not in the Walnut Creek School District. Teenagers age 14-17 are welcome with a parent, guardian or Scout Leader.  We do ask for a commitment. That commitment is to attend all the classes in a series including the exercise; to maintain your skills through periodic practice and additional training; and to be ready to help your community in time of disaster. Class series are held each year in Lafayette and/or Orinda. Each series is nine weekly evenings of approximately 3 hours including a 4 hour skills exercise.

Beginning Fall 2023, residents of El Cerrito and Kensington are welcomed into our classes at the RESIDENT fee of $40.

What is included? The Lamorinda CERT curriculum is based on the FEMA standard CERT curriculum. We localize and enhance it to be appropriate for local residents. Little time is spent talking about hurricanes but we cover earthquake and wildfire preparedness in detail. The subjects covered are: personal and home preparedness for all-hazard emergencies; radio communications; utility, hazardous materials and fire safety; disaster medical response; light search and rescue; Incident Command System; disaster psychology; terrorism;  and pet preparedness. We do NOT teach CPR but encourage all to be CPR/AED trained.

There is a non-refundable class registration fee. To those who attend the first five classes we will distribute, at no charge, a CERT specific kit of hard to find disaster response medical supply items valued at over $40.

Out-of-District Students. Occasionally our classes are not filled with in-district students. If you do not live or work in Lamorinda, you may be able to sign up for one of our class series. To do so, send a request to registrar@lamorindacert.org and ask if there are openings. The cost for an out of district student class fee is $100. This almost covers our out-of-pocket costs per student!

Participant Manual. The manual is approximately 300 pages in length. A printed Participant Manual is available and is highly recommended so you can take notes on images of the PowerPoint slides. At checkout, when paying for your class fee, you will be offered the option of a printed manual. It is printed with tab dividers and delivered in a binder with printed cover and spine. The printed manual is offered at our current cost. The Participant Manual is also available in .pdf format if you choose to print all 300 plus pages at home.

Scholarships are available to attend the CERT training for high school students in need. Inquire here.

Access and Functional Needs. All presentation materials have been designed to be accessible for low-vision and color blind persons. Reasonable accommodations for people with other access and functional needs are available upon request. Make your request as early as possible as last minute requests will be accepted but may be impossible to fill. If accommodation is needed, please send your request to registrar@lamorindacert.org .

As with every activity we do in CERT, all times are listed in 24 hour format. 1830 = 6:30 p.m.

Fall 2024 Session – CLASS REGISTRATION WITHIN LAMORINDA CLASS REGISTRATION OUT-OF-DISTRICT 

Note the Wednesday class on October 30th due to Halloween! All other classes are on Thursdays.

DATE UNITS LOCATION TIME INSTRUCTORS
Thursday, Sept 12, 2024 Introduction & Preparedness Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Sparks / Merrifield / Israel
Thursday, Sept 19, 2024 CERT Organization & Communications Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Macler / Seibert
Thursday, Sept 26, 2024 Fire Safety Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Airola / Dick
Thursday, Oct 3 2024 Medical Part I Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Sparks / Lin
Thursday, Oct 10, 2024 Medical Part II Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Merrifield / Sparks / Lin
Thursday, Oct 17, 2024 Search & Rescue Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Lipp / Lee
Thursday, Oct 24, 2024 Cribbing, Pets, Mini-Drill Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Seibert
Wednesday, Oct 30 Exercise Contra Costa Fire District Training Center 1800 to 2200 All instructors
Thursday, Nov 7, 2024 Psychology, Terrorism & Graduation Orinda Library Garden Room 1830 to 2130 Cornell / Wilde

 

Winter 2025 Session – CLASS REGISTRATION WITHIN LAMORINDA CLASS REGISTRATION OUT-OF-DISTRICT 

DATE UNITS LOCATION TIME INSTRUCTORS
Thursday, Jan 9, 2025 Introduction & Preparedness Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Sparks / Merrifield / Israel
Thursday, Jan 16, 2025 CERT Organization & Communications Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Macler / Seibert
Thursday, Jan 23, 2025 Fire Safety Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Airola / Dick
Thursday, Jan 30, 2025 Medical Part I Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Sparks / Lin
Thursday, Feb 6, 2025 Medical Part II Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Merrifield / Sparks / Lin
Thursday, Feb 13, 2025 Search & Rescue Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Lipp / Lee
Thursday, Feb 20 2025 Cribbing, Pets, Mini-Drill Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Dick / Seibert
Thursday, Feb 27, 2025 Exercise Contra Costa Fire District Training Center 1800 to 2200 All instructors
Thursday, Mar 6, 2025 Psychology, Terrorism & Graduation Lafayette Community Center 1830 to 2130 Cornell / Wilde

For more information, contact the Registrar.