Are you prepared for an emergency?  Would you like to learn how to help your family and neighbors if one occurs?  Then you are invited to become a member of Hanover County’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

In the months of April and May, Basic CERT classes will be held at the Farrington Fire Station, located at 14582 Mountain Road, Glen Allen, 20359.  Classes will be available on April 18 and 25 from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. and again on May 2 and 9 during the same timeframe. Saturday classes will be offered on April 28 and May 5, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Subjects will include emergency preparedness, basic first aid, fire extinguisher usage, search and rescue, terrorism, and incident command structure.   The classes will be taught by FEMA-certified CERT members as well as Hanover Fire/EMS personnel.  In order to graduate, attendance will be required for each class.

If you would like to participate, please email your contact information (name, cell phone number and email address) to [email protected].  The deadline to sign up is April 14.

Over 225 Hanover residents have taken this class and 80 have gone on to join the CERT Unit as volunteers under Hanover Fire/EMS.  Those Unit members assist in events and, with higher training, can also be deployed to incidents such as search and rescue, traffic control, etc.

Hanover CERT team members have assisted with the North Anna Nuclear Power Plant drill, the search for a missing boy around North Anna Battlefield Park, water and ice distribution after tornados and the Louisa County earthquake.