ACRAMENTO CERT is a team of community members in the Sacramento region who have been trained, in cooperation with the Sacramento City Fire Department (SFD), to respond to an emergency in their neighborhood, workplace, or wherever the need may arise.
The CERT program is an all-risk, all-hazard training program that educates volunteer members about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills.
The Sacramento Fire CERT program adheres to the FEMA Position Qualification System for all deployable members, consisting of FEMA CERT Volunteer Type I/II, FEMA CERT Section Chief, and FEMA CERT Team Leader Type I/II.
The team operates one 3/4 ton utility truck, one 3/4 ton logistics van, two search and rescue equipment trailers, two service trailers, one animal response trailer, one Command/Communications/Rehab trailer, and one 6×4 gator. Sacramento CERT is comprised of two Battalions (North and South of the American River) and maintains a command staff following the Incident Command System for both operational and day-to-day activities.
Program volunteers provide approximately 6,800 hours of service each year and provide service to approximately 530,000 residents located in the Sacramento region.
In addition, the program maintains the capability of deploying via mutual aid request anywhere in California for up to two weeks to serve on disaster scenes. In support of the Sacramento Fire Department, the program regularly provides overhead personnel for Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Task Force Seven (Task Force 7) operations (mobilization and demobilization), and the Sacramento All Hazards IMT.