Why I Signed Up for CERT After Woolsey — And What the Training Actually Covers

After the 2018 Woolsey Fire burned through the hills near my home in West Hills, I didn't just want better equipment — I wanted to actually understand what I was supposed to do in a wildfire, beyond "pay attention to the news and be ready to leave." That's what led me to my local CERT program: Community Emergency Response Team training. It's free, it's open to almost anyone, and eight years later I still think it's one of the most underused resources sitting in plain sight for homeowners in fire country.

I bring it up because I still meet people — customers, neighbors — who've never heard of it, or assume it's for aspiring firefighters. It isn't. It's for you.

What CERT Actually Is

CERT is a FEMA-backed program run locally by fire departments and emergency management offices across the country. In the City of Los Angeles, it's run by LAFD. The idea behind it is simple: in a major disaster — an earthquake, a fast-moving wildfire, anything that overwhelms first responders — there won't be enough fire and police personnel to reach everyone right away. CERT trains ordinary residents to fill that gap safely: to help themselves, their households, and their immediate neighbors survive the first hours before professional help can arrive everywhere it's needed.

It's not about running into danger. A core principle instructors repeat throughout the course is the priority order: yourself first, then your family, then your neighbors and community — in that order, and only when it's safe to act.

What the Training Covers

Through LAFD, the course runs about 17.5 hours total, typically delivered one session a week over roughly seven weeks, with morning, afternoon, and evening class options depending on location. The curriculum covers:

• Basic fire suppression — how fire behaves, and how to safely use an extinguisher or contain a small fire before it grows
• Emergency medical care — including treating shock and basic triage, for when 911 is delayed or overwhelmed
• Evacuation and shelter procedures — how to move people safely and make good decisions under pressure
• Light search and rescue — the same techniques professional teams use, scaled to what an untrained resident can safely do
• Disaster psychology and team organization — how to keep a group functioning when everyone, including you, is stressed
• Radio and disaster communications — useful any time cell networks are jammed or down, which is common in major wildfire events

Classes are open to anyone 18 or older in reasonably good health — no firefighting background required. After completing the course, most chapters ask graduates to do periodic refresher drills to keep the skills current.

Why It Changed How I Prepare

A checklist can tell you what gear to buy. CERT is where I actually learned how a wildfire evacuation plays out on the ground, what fire crews are realistically able to do when a whole region is under threat at once, and where the gaps are that a prepared homeowner can fill safely. It's also where I learned the basics of hydrant access rules — which is its own story I've written about separately — and it's a big part of why Ace Fire Defense exists at all. Equipment matters, but knowing what to do with it, and when, matters just as much.

What You Need to Know

• It's free and open to residents — you don't need any prior training or experience to sign up.
• Programs are run locally. If you're in the City of LA, that's LAFD; other cities and counties run their own chapters through their fire department or office of emergency management — search "[your city] CERT program" to find yours.
• The time commitment is real but manageable — roughly 17.5 hours spread across about seven weekly sessions for the LAFD course.
• You'll learn skills that apply beyond wildfire — earthquakes, floods, and other disasters use the same core training.
• It complements your equipment, it doesn't replace it. CERT teaches you the judgment and procedures; a real hydrant valve, hose, wrench, and nozzle are the tools you'd actually use if you choose to stay and defend when it's safe to do so.
• This supplements evacuation, it doesn't replace it. CERT training itself teaches this: if officials issue an evacuation order, go. Structure and neighborhood support work happen only when it's genuinely safe.

If you live in a wildfire-risk area and haven't looked into your local CERT program, it's worth an evening of research to find your chapter's next class calendar. Pair the training with the right equipment, and you're covering both halves of the job — knowing what to do, and having what you need to do it.

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Sherwin Ross is the founder of Ace Fire Defense, based in West Hills, CA. After the 2018 Woolsey Fire, he became CERT-trained and started building wildfire defense equipment for homeowners.