The Santa Clara County Fire Department offers the CERT Academy to train residents on disaster preparedness skills. In the event of a disaster or public safety emergency, CERT volunteers will be able to assist their family and neighbors when first responders are not immediately available to help.

Participants will learn disaster preparedness, disaster medical operations, disaster psychology, fire suppression, light search and rescue, and terrorism awareness.

The CERT Academy is (3) evening/in-person sessions, (3) evening/online sessions, and a (1) final in-person skills exercise during the day. All in-person sessions will be at the Los Altos Hills Town Hall.

Students must attend all seven (7) FEMA class sessions to receive a Certificate of Completion. Should you have to miss a date, makeup sessions can occur later in the year.

CERT classes are held on Tuesday (in-person) and Thursday (online) nights, from 6:00pm-9:00pm, on the following dates: 4/29, 5/1, 5/6, 5/8, 5/13, 5/15, with an in-person Skills/Graduation: Saturday on 5/17 from 8:30am to 1:00pm.

Fee: $35 fee covers the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) you will receive in this course: hard hat, gloves, eye protection, vest, and N95 mask.

This training course is open to individuals who live or work within the communities served by Santa Clara County Fire Department: Cupertino, Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and the unincorporated surrounding areas.

If you are interested in attending CERT and do not live or work in the jurisdictions served by the Santa Clara County Fire Department you can attend any of the CERT classes served by SCCFD, however, preference will be given to those who reside in any of the seven (7) SCCFD jurisdictions. For further questions please visit the web site or contact the Eventbrite organizer listed below for more information on how to attend CERT Academy before registering on Eventbrite.

Participants should be 16+. If participants are under 18, a guardian or parent must be present during in-person courses.

Questions please contact: Gracie Hernandez at (408) 341-4425 or by email at cert@sccfd.org

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Academy - Spring 2025