Setting Up a CERT or Community Response Program
For Community Emergency Response Teams, neighbourhood response groups, auxiliary / reserve programs, faith-based disaster teams and volunteer fire police. Members are many, part-time and varied in tech comfort — so the recipe favours simplicity: a clean roster, reliable notifications, an easy calendar, training tracking, and a few records for deployments.
1 — Department settings
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Modules | Messaging, Calendar, Documents, Notes, Trainings, Records on; Shifts, Inventory, Checklists on only if you use them; Mapping on. |
| Staffing reset | Off. |
| Suppress notifications for | Inactive staffing level. |
| Security | View personal info → Admins + Team leaders; Create calls → Admins + Team leaders; 2FA for admins. |
2 — Types, groups, roles, statuses
| Item | Values |
|---|---|
| Unit types | CERT team, Vehicle, Trailer. |
| Call types | Deployment, Damage assessment, Shelter support, Traffic / crowd, Search assist, Training, Community event. |
| Priorities | Urgent, Standard, Planned. |
| Certifications | CERT basic, CPR/First aid, Traffic control, Shelter operations, ICS 100/700, Background check (with expiry). |
| Groups | Station = your meeting point / cache; organisational groups per neighbourhood or team. |
| Roles | CERT member, Team leader, Program coordinator, Logistics, Communications (ham), Medical. |
| Statuses | Personnel: Available · Deployed · Not available; staffing: Active · Inactive · Deployable this week. |
3 — Personnel
- Invite in batches; hold a short onboarding session to install Responder, verify contact methods and set notification preferences (push + SMS).
- Enter certifications (background check expiry matters).
- Mark long-inactive members hidden rather than deleting; communication tests each season find dead numbers.
4 — Calendar, trainings, documents
- Calendar types: Training (RSVP), Meeting, Community event (sign-up sheet with limited slots), Deployment.
- Trainings: module refreshers between in-person classes with quizzes; require completion for deployment eligibility (report to the coordinator).
- Documents: field operating guide, forms, maps, MOU with the sponsoring agency.
- Notes: radio plan, cache combination (restricted by permission), current standing orders.
5 — Deployments (calls)
- The coordinator creates a Deployment call (or the sponsoring EOC dispatches through a department link) and dispatches to the CERT member role or to neighbourhood groups.
- Messages with responses for availability polls before a deployment.
- Check-in timers (Sector rotation 2 h) for field teams; team leaders check in from Responder.
6 — Records (CERT pack)
Enable Records and use the CERT Operations Pack: CERT Damage Assessment (photo coordinates on), CERT Assignment Tracking and CERT Activity / Communications Log. Quick entry preset; the coordinator reviews. Add Community risk reduction activities (preparedness fairs, smoke-alarm installs) for grant reporting.
7 — Communication
- Chat: department channel + team channels; Assistant for "who is available this weekend?".
- Notifications: CERT member available < 10 before events.
- Workflows: Call created → email the sponsoring agency; Certification expiring (background check) → member + coordinator.
- Connect public profile for class schedules and recruitment.
First-week checklist
- Roster invited; ≥ 80 % verified email and mobile
- Calendar types and the next three trainings entered with RSVP
- A test deployment call received by everyone
- CERT Damage Assessment definition published