FEMA's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Basic Training Instructor Guide is a critical program in the effort to engage everyone in America in making their communities safer, more prepared, and more resilient when incidents occur. Community-based preparedness planning allows you and others interested from your community to prepare for and respond to anticipated disruptions and potential hazards following a disaster. As individuals, we can prepare our homes and families to cope during that critical period. Through pre-event planning, neighborhoods and worksites can also work together to help reduce injuries, loss of lives, and property damage. Neighborhood preparedness will enhance the ability of individuals and neighborhoods to reduce their emergency needs and to manage their existing resources until professional assistance becomes available. The purpose of the CERT Basic Training is to provide you and others in your community who complete this course with the basic skills that they will need to respond to their community's immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster, when emergency services are not immediately available. This course will be beneficial to individuals who desire the skills and knowledge required to prepare for and respond to a disaster. Instructors for these community courses usually range from skilled fire and rescue instructors that have completed the CERT Train-the Trainer course and are knowledgeable about the CERT model, different types of hazards that present greatest risks for communities, local building structures that may present greatest hazard in disaster events, community's emergency operation plans, and licensed Paramedics or Emergency Medical Technicians and nurses for providing hands-on knowledge relating to disaster medical operations Related items: FEMA's companion product-- CERT Basic Training Participant Manualcan be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/products/sku/027-002-00627-5 Emergency Management & First Responders publications can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/security-defense-law-enforcement/emerg... Audience: As each CERT is organized and trained in accordance with standard operating procedures developed by the sponsoring agency, its members select an Incident Commander/Team Leader (IC/TL) and an alternate and identify a meeting location, or staging area, to be used in the event of a disaster. This publication is ideal for the chosen IC/TL, and members of the CERT may want to consult this manual to understand the responsibilities of the IC/TL.