Neighbors Helping Neighbors
BLACK MOUNTAIN'S
COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT)
Our Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) provides training, structure, and accountability for citizen volunteers of the Town of Black Mountain in serving their community during disasters.
The CERT also deploys to non-emergency events and emergency scenes, which provides opportunities for members to serve by collaborating with each other, practicing their skills, and operating within the town's public safety (Police & Fire) chain of command.
Necessarily, members of the CERT are trained, equipped, and prepared to survive disasters in their own home – so CERT membership is by default a form of disaster preparedness for our community.
Deployment of the CERT throughout each year is also an opportunity to develop relationships and interoperate with Black Mountain's police and fire agencies, as well as county EMS and other first responders across the region.
Our CERT program adheres to the standards and best practices of CERT as defined by the federal government and the State of North Carolina, and is registered with North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM).
After assuring their own family is safe, the CERT member is by default a resource to their immediate neighborhood – organizing their neighbors for a coordinated response as the situation requires, and communicating to the Black Mountain Police/Fire/EMS agencies their status and needs.
CERT members are equipped with two-way radios and have the skills to communicate with our town's public safety agencies and/or Emergency Operations Center (EOC) even if cellular and telephones are down. This may provide a temporary replacement for the 9-1-1 infrastructure that may be compromised or unavailable during a disaster, providing "eyes and ears" for public safety agencies in the initial hours of such a disaster.
CERT members may also be deployed elsewhere in town during a disaster, depending upon the situation and needs.
There is a long list of potential duties for CERT members during a disaster, depending upon their skills and experience and the need for additional personnel by police/fire/EMS. These could include:
“Helene showed us the incredible power of neighbors helping neighbors. Citizens with chainsaws, specific skill sets, UTVs, and big hearts stepped up before our officers could even finish the first wave of rescues.
Launching CERT means that the same community spirit will come to the next emergency equipped, organized, and ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our first responders from the very first moment.”
— Chief Steve Parker, Black Mountain Police Department
The CERT members are not only "on duty" for disasters, but for a variety of events and emergency responses. Most of these duties require additional special training and/or certifications, which the Black Mountain CERT Program will facilitate.
It is our intention to welcome members with special skills and background experience that can apply in both disasters, emergencies, and events such as medical training, wilderness/outdoor leadership, communications technical and/or operating skills, G.I.S. and mapping capabilities, drone operation, and wildland firefighting.
Potential Duties include:
“We are proud to invite community members to take an active role in emergency preparedness.
CERT volunteers are a vital extension of our response efforts, and their training can make a real difference when seconds count.”
— Chief John Coffey, Black Mountain Fire Department
Candidates for membership in the Black Mountain CERT Program must meet the minimum requirements, submit an application for membership, and be accepted by the Program. Acceptance is not guaranteed, and membership may be revoked under certain conditions.
Minimum Requirements to Apply include:
Candidates accepted into the CERT Program become a Regular Member upon:
The Black Mountain CERT Program provides opportunities for the NC-317 class at least twice a year, and the CPR/AED BLS certification throughout the year.