Coastside CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) is an emergency preparedness volunteer organization focused on creating a ready and resilient community along the San Francisco Bay Area coast from the southern side of the Tom Lantos Tunnel (Devil’s Slide) to Tunitas Creek Road.
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If you’d like to join Coastside CERT, please fill out form.
"There is likely no better local example of how a little public investment coupled with a spirit of community service can make an incalculable difference in the lives of real people."
Clay Lambert, Editor, Half Moon Bay Review
Op/Ed article on Coastside CERT, 11/11/2
Coastside CERT will now be offering on-going Skills Refresher classes to our certified CERTs here on the Coastside. These classes are a great way to get continuing hands-on practice in our basic CERT skills. Details about our first class are below:
Class #1: Fire Suppression and Utility Controls*
(practice with fire extinguishers, putting out fires, turning off gas and electric service to a home, etc.)
Saturday, June 19, 2021
10:00am to 11:30am
Fire Station 40 (1191 Main St - HMB)
Instructor: Cindy Watson
Please bring your CERT backpack, vest & PPE.
Please wear closed-toed shoes and long pants.
Bring water!
We will follow the Covid protocols of Fire Station 40
This is the new way to take CERT Basic Training - Start Now and
Graduate August 21, 2021
The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact the Coastside and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, earthquake survival skills, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations.
Coastside CERT basic training also offers additional instruction in medical triage, basic radio communication, neighborhood emergency response organization, evacuation information, and tips for surviving a fire in the Tom Lantos tunnels.
Using the training learned in the classroom and during CERT exercises, members can assist their community or workplace following an emergency event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. Coastside CERT Hybrid Basic Training is a powerful and informative course in actionable local emergency preparedness knowledge.
The course is FREE. You will receive a CERT manual (online/hardcopy) as you begin the class and CERT backpack kit at the In Person Training Day.
This free training includes an online portion followed-up by an in-person, hands-on, practical training day led by Division Chief David Cosgrave at Coastside Fire Station 40 in Half Moon Bay on August 21, 2021.
ONLINE LECTURE PORTION OF YOUR TRAINING
Estimated Time = 12 hours
Access it on your mobile device or computer.
Complete it at your pace and at your convenience.
Course progress will be saved and can be resumed later.
You will receive the link to the online portion of your training once you register.
After completing the Basic Training course there is one more module in Medical Triage to be completed before the In Person Training Day.
Chief Cosgrave will hold a Zoom Q & A and Instruction session with Summer CERT 2021 registered students to add local Coastside knowledge to your online training and answer your questions. With a genuine passion for teaching, Chief Cosgrave weaves his three decades of Coastside first responder experiences in and out of FEMA's basic training curriculum with threads of practical life-saving skills, relatable stories to boost your Coastside survival IQ, and a wicked sense of humor. He knows where all the bodies are buried, so to speak (says he won't tell ;), and shares his amazing experiences to teach you, your family, and your neighbors how to stay safe.
Certificate of online completion of both Basic Training & medical triage must be emailed to coastsidecert@gmail.com by 5:00 PM August 15, 2021 to reserve your place for the In Person Training Day and graduation. Our next In Person Training Day will be held August 21, 2021.
IN-PERSON, HANDS-ON, PRACTICAL PORTION OF YOUR TRAINING
Estimated Time = 7 hrs
Date and Time: August 21, 2021, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM
Location: Coastside Fire Station 40, 1191 Main St., Half Moon Bay, 94019
All COVID-19 precautions will be observed: masks and gloves, social distancing, handwashing, and sanitizing.
Must attend full day in order to receive final certificate of course completion. You will be a full-fledged CERT graduate by end of this session.
Chief Cosgrave has designed the in-person training day based on localized knowledge and the Hybrid CERT curriculum checklist. No slides. The emphasis is on learning by doing: Instructors demonstrate and students practice the skills, progressing from one skill station to another followed by team participation in disaster simulations.
If you have any questions, please contact Coastside CERT Program Coordinator Cynthia Sherrill (coastsidecert@gmail.com) or CERT Dean of Students, Joyce Logan (jlogan@thelogangroup. com). Thank you! You can do this!
Additional Resources:
Once you have signed up we will send you Pro Tips for How to Get Started + Study Guide
Coastside CERT thanks Coastside Gives and our generous donors for their support.
We are overjoyed and ready to put your donations to work.
Won’t you join us?
How will funds be used?
Your donations are vital to our mission as we amplify our outreach
to serve more residents of the larger Coastside community
to serve more residents of the larger Coastside community
Free disaster preparedness & response training - basic training, ongoing refresher classes, and advanced training in English & Spanish.
Communications infrastructure to send timely local safety messages, webinars, videos, tutorials, and Chief David Cosgrave's Newsletters.
Critical practice drills & mutual aid activations with other emergency response agencies, as during the CZU fires & burn scar debris flow evacuations, and CERT volunteers who have continuously staffed HMB COVID testing sites since June 2020.
Preparedness & response equipment.
Growth of neighbor helping neighbor networks in every local neighborhood as they work together to strengthen communication and resilience.
Questions or comments? Contact us at coastsidecert@gmail.com