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.
Join Us to get updates and safety information.
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
Clay Lambert, Editor, Half Moon Bay Review
Op/Ed article on Coastside CERT, 11/11/2020
Click to support our program with a donation!
Upcoming Coastside CERT Events
September 19 Ocean Colony Newcomer Welcome Event 4-6 pm. Open to OC homeowners who have moved in since 2019. OC-CERT will host an information table at the event.
September 20 + 21 LISTOS Zoom course taught in Spanish 6-8 PM for two nights. Family emergency preparedness and first aid. Graduates receive a backpack with supplies. To sign up, email Nancy@alasdreams.com.
October 9 Great Coastside ShakeOut. Online and in-person in all neighborhoods. Our once a year, every resident, all neighborhoods, multi-agency, earthquake and radio communications drill. Everyone participates!.
October 19 Chief Cosgrave's Hybrid CERT/Triage Q&A Zoom. 6:30-8:00. A meeting for all students registered for the Fall CERT 2021 class and those who complete the online Triage online module before October 19.
November 6 Hybrid CERT Training Day and Graduation, Coastside Fire Station 40, HMB. CERT volunteers who would like to refresh their skills are enthusiastically invited to participate. Sign up below! Questions? Please contact coastsidecert@gmail.com
This is the new way to take CERT Basic Training - Start Now and
Graduate November 6, 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 November 6, 2021.
ONLINE LECTURE PORTION OF YOUR TRAINING
Estimated Time = 12 hours (some have finished in much faster and others have taken longer)
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. This triage module has only recently been added to the Hybrid CERT online program but is strongly encouraged for all CERTs in California. There is a one-hour online portion and then the Chief will "localize" the content for the Coastside during the October 19 Zoom Q&A.
How to access the Triage online module:
1. Go to https://csti-ca.csod.com
2. Register for an account. (Green icon with light bulb.)
3. Login
4. Click on Browse Training (Binocular icon - Yellow gold icon 2nd from left.)
5. Scroll down to "Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Course - Hybrid Training Triage Module" noted by blue monitor. (Next course listed after Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Course - Hybrid Training)
6. Launch Training (allow pop-ups)
7. Take the training (the small arrows to advance slides are at very bottom right of screen)
8. Please forward the Triage module completion certificate to coastsidecert@gmail.com
Chief Cosgrave will hold a Zoom Q & A and Instruction session on October 19 from 6:30-8:30 PM with all registered students who have completed or are actively working on the online training modules to provide localized Coastside knowledge to your CERT training and answer any questions you may have. 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 in both Basic Training & Medical Triage must be emailed to coastsidecert@gmail.com by 5:00 PM OCTOBER 31, 2021 to reserve your place for the In Person Training Day and graduation. Our next In Person Training Day will be held November 6, 2021.
IN-PERSON, HANDS-ON, PRACTICAL PORTION OF YOUR TRAINING
Estimated Time = 7 hrs
Date and Time: November 6, 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
Volunteer Opportunity with Senior Coastsiders
Senior Coastsiders is going to return to every day meal delivery for our homebound seniors starting on September 1st. During COVID, we moved to a three day/week delivery schedule both to reduce the frequency of contacts and also because our delivery numbers went from 45 to over 200. We have leveled off at about 120 and have 5 routes (three driving, two walking). We are still trying to fill a couple of routes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and I would love it if you could circulate this request among CERTmembers who might be interested.
Route 2 - Northern route, Moss Beach, Montara, El Granada (approximately 2.25-2.75 hours)
Tuesdays - leaves center at 10:45
Thursdays - leave center at 10:45
Route 1 - Ocean Colony, Canada Cove (approximately 1.5 hours)
Tuesdays - leaves center at 10:50
Route 3 - Downtown HMB up to Miramar (approximately 1-1.5 hours)
Thursdays - (this is somewhat covered by a volunteer willing to deliver twice a week which I'd like to avoid) - leaves center at 10:55
Hope Atmore, Program Manager (and CERT)
Senior Coastsiders
925 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 726-9056
Coastside CERT thanks Coastside Gives and our generous donors for their support.
We are grateful and already putting your donations to work.
Won’t you join us?
How are funds being 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