Program Overview
The Spartanburg County CERT Program (free of charge) was developed because of the need for a well-trained civilian emergency work force. The CERT Program provides for community self-sufficiency through the development of multi-functional response teams who act as an adjunct to the County's emergency services during major disasters. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, and provide immediate assistance to victims. CERT members can also assist with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. Through this unique program, people from community organizations, business and industry, and county employee groups will become CERT members. They work as team members and perform as individual leaders by directing untrained volunteers in the initial phase of an emergency.

Basic CERT Syllabus
Class 1 - Introduction, Earthquake Awareness	Unit 1:  Disaster Preparedness	Registration Introduction Hazards Personal and Family Preparation Nonstructural Hazard Mitigation
Class 2 - Disaster Fire Suppression Techniques	Unit 2: Fire Safety	Fire Chemistry Fire Extinguisher Use Utility Control Creative Firefighting Techniques Hazardous Materials / Placarding
Class 3 - Disaster Medical Operations	Unit 3:  Disaster Medical Operations 1	Recognizing Life-Threatening Emergencies Treating Life-Threatening Emergencies Triage
	Unit 4:  Disaster Medical Operations 2	Head-to-Toe Evaluation Treating Non-Life-Threatening Emergencies Treating Area Management
Class 4 - Light Search and Rescue / Team Organization	Unit 5:  Light Search and Rescue Operations	Evacuation Search Techniques Rescue Methods/Cribbing
	Unit 6: CERT Organization	Developing a Response Team Incident Command System “ICS”
Class 5 - Disaster Psychology / Terrorism	Unit 7:  Disaster Psychology	Psychological "Size-Up"
	Unit 8:  Terrorism and CERT	History of Terrorism Do's and Don'ts During a Terrorist Act Homeland Defense Tips
Class 6 - Disaster Simulation and Graduation	Unit 9:  Disaster Simulation