Do You Know How to Respond to an Emergency Safely

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• Catherine Poland - [email protected]

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Earthquakes. Wildfires. Hurricanes.

California has its fair share of potential natural disasters that can strike - and that's before manmade disasters are even taken into consideration. Disasters can be terrifying, but they don't have to be: With preparation, you can be ready to respond to an emergency in the window of time before first responders arrive so that you can take care of yourself, your loved ones and your community members to the best of your ability.

Learning how to do so can be absolutely free, as well, if you sign up for one of UC San Diego's Campus Emergency Response Team's 24-hour training academies. You'll leave with certification from UC San Diego and the skills and knowledge to better respond when a disaster occurs.

"The reality is that emergencies can happen anytime," says Julie Jeakle, the director of emergency management at UC San Diego. "Roommates, neighbors and colleagues are often the first individuals on scene before first responders arrive. CERT is designed to empower individuals to help themselves and others in times of emergency."

Taught by certified instructors - including retired firefighters and emergency response professionals - the three-day courses follow a curriculum developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Participants receive hands-on training in CPR; fire-extinguisher use for small fires; performing light search-and-rescue; organizing and conducting an initial building or site assessment; and setting up - and performing - triage and bandaging of the wounded while waiting for first responders to arrive.

The course is open to all campus members, regardless of their physical strength or mobility and no previous medical training is required.

"Even if you don't feel comfortable doing everything, there's a spot for you and a need for you," says Pat O'Neil, a retired firefighter and captain who has been teaching the certification course for about a decade and a half. "There's a job for everybody," he says. "If you feel that you can help out by being the scribe or the accountability person, then that's great. You don't have to be the person that helps with bandaging or putting out a fire."

Worried about time? The three-day courses are offered in two ways, to suit those who would like to devote weekdays or weekends to their certification.

If you're interested, sign up for one of the upcoming training academies, which are typically offered three times a year. Upcoming 2026 dates include a weekday course that will run 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 22-24, or a weekend-only course that will be held on three sequential Saturdays Oct. 10, 17 and 24. The website will be updated with additional training academies as they become available.

Completing the course doesn't require future participation in drills or emergency response, Jeakle is quick to point out. "Some individuals want to take the training just for their own personal knowledge," she says, which is welcomed. Once certified, participants who are interested in volunteering for practice drills or real-life events, should the need arise, can sign-up with the emergency management department.

The knowledge and skills that come with certification can travel with you as well. Since the program is designed by FEMA but implemented locally, there are CERT teams across the nation that utilize the same curriculum and training. The only difference is in what the C stands for - within higher education it stands for "campus" whereas elsewhere it stands for "community." Regardless of where you might move within the U.S., you can contact your local fire station to join their local CERT team, if you would like to do so.

"Through CERT and other preparedness programs offered through the emergency management department, we can empower our campus partners and community members to gain valuable skills to help them be part of the greater and broader preparedness network on campus," Jeakle says. "And the more people we have thinking about these things, the better off collectively we will all be."