In the months of March and April, Basic CERT classes will be held at the Ashland Fire Station, located at 501 Archie Cannon Drive. Classes will be on Wednesdays, March 18, March 25, April 1, April 8 and April 15, from 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. and on Saturday, April 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Topics 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. 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 March 11, 2020. As always, the training is free!

Over 250 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.