On Saturday, dozens of Angelenos traded scrolling for search-and-rescue at Encino Park, moving through an earthquake drill that tested triage, light search-and-rescue and fire suppression. The hands-on day was part of the Los Angeles Community Emergency Response Team program, which trains neighbors to step in when professional first responders are stretched thin. For residents still on edge after last winter’s Palisades blaze and the city’s constant seismic jitters, the drills offered practical tools and a rare chance to practice side by side with local firefighters. The scenes of makeshift triage lanes, volunteer teams hauling stretchers and instructors barking rapid-fire directions looked like a neighborhood-scale emergency command post.
As reported by the Los Angeles Daily News, Valley Bureau CERT coordinator Christy Adair said the program is in high demand and trains “thousands of people every year.” The Encino Park exercise appeared on community sign-up pages and registration sites as a free session for newly certified volunteers. Eventbrite lists the location as Encino Park and names the local partners that helped pull the drill together.
How the training works
The LAFD’s CERT basic course is a modular series that combines evening classroom lessons with hands-on drills and covers fire suppression, disaster medical operations, patient assessment and light search-and-rescue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The department notes that graduates then cycle through periodic refreshers and full-day drills so teams stay ready for call-outs when they happen.
The Emergency Management Institute at FEMA took the LAFD model in the 1990s and adapted it into a national CERT curriculum, as detailed in the program manual on govinfo.gov.
CERT in emergencies
Local CERT volunteers have already been put to work during real crises. CERT call-out teams conducted fire patrols during red-flag conditions and then shifted into support roles during the Palisades response, handling meal service, donations, repopulation escorts and community intake points, according to CERT-LA. Instructors say that kind of experience is exactly why they fold real-world incident tasks into the drills. By taking on logistics and lower-risk assignments, CERT volunteers free up firefighters to stay focused on front-line operations.
Why residents sign up
People who showed up for Saturday’s drill said they were looking for tools they could use the moment disaster hits, not hours later. As quoted in the Los Angeles Daily News, firefighter-instructor Candra Rodriguez called CERT “the single most important educational training people could take.” Many participants said the certification also gives them the confidence to step into neighborhood emergencies instead of stopping at a 9-1-1 call and hoping help arrives fast.
How to join
Classes and refresher drills run year-round under battalion coordinators and partner organizations, with more information and sign-up links available through CERT-LA. For city-level details, the LAFD CERT unit can be reached through the department’s volunteer pages and contact lines.
