NCA Objectives
NCA is a source of information and training
for the establishment, management, maintenance and operation
of Community CERTs inPalm Beach County.
This website is intended to help us achieve our objectives:
Compliance with most up-to-date FEMA, Florida and Palm Beach County guidance, laws, statutes and regulations.
A Forum for the Palm Beach County CERTs in the development, sharing and consensus of ideas, and to share lessons-learned from their collective experience.
Information and Training appropriate to provide well coordinated and effective emergency support to our community.
Communication To identify the effective means of communication within and between the Community CERTs, and the county Emergency Operations Center and other emergency resoures.
Liability Mitigation to teach the CERT members what the liability pitfalls are and how to avoid them. To provide liability protection to the Board of Directors, CERT Committee and CERT Team members. And how to defend against a liability claim.
Coordination is the integration of additional external resources to the Communiy CERT before, during or after an emergency incident. These resources would be an addition to the EOC assets (Fire, Police, Rescue, E911 and ambulance service). They may include other Citizen Corps assets or organizations, such as the NOAA Skywarn program, local NOAA Weather Stations, the American Red Cross, local hospitals, ambulance services, pharmacies, food stores, home stores, etc.
It should be noted that the EOC has a wide variety of resources that they can bring to bear from the Florida State DEM and directly from FEMA.
Coordination would also include additional reviews, drills and exerises by the county, the annual Team Gator CERT Refresher or internal CERT drills and exercises.
BACKGROUND
In 2014, 2016 and 2020 FEMA overhauled and updated its website and much of the documentation pertinent to the establishment, management, operation and maintenance of a
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).
As a result of the new and modified FEMA and Palm Beach County guidance and requirements, the initial documentation of our CERTs should be appropriately modified to more closely follow these changes. This re-documentation would provide more clarity to CERT team responsibilities, practices and procedures. It can also establish a strong defense mechanism to protect CERT members, CERT Committee and their Home Owners Associations from liability related to CERT activity.
There are fewer than 50 neighborhood CERTs still in operation in Palm Beach County today. It has been 10 years since the last hurricane in southern Florida. When the next major storm hits, southern Florida we will have a collection of uncoordinated, out of practice, over-aged CERTs fending for themselves without any form of centralized coordination, guidance and information. Many of the CERTs stopped operating due to concerns about possible liability issues. Many because there was no perceived need after many years without a disaster. It is estimated that the week after the first category 3 storm, there will be at least 20 new CERTs trying to startup up without appropriate coordination, guidance and training.
This website is dedicated to providing information and methods for new and already organized CERTs to create, manage and operate a CERT, and to create some kind of central organization to coordinate the information, development and operation of these (orphaned) non-municipal CERTs.
The information presented in this site is extracted from FEMA and other authoritative websites and presented in condensed form with references to their sources. The three core functions of a CERT, Organization, Operation and Communication, are emphasized. Sample documentation for the formation/re-formation of our CERTs will be developed by the Community CERT committees as a collaborative effort. Final documentation will be made available to be modified and adapted by each Community CERT as appropriate.
The NCA will provide information for the education and training of CERT members and managers. NCA will provide a suggested list of training based on FEMA, FCC and Palm Beacch County requirements. If a Community CERT chooses not to use the suggested training it will weaken that CERTs Liability Mitigation process. NCA does not provide direction to Community CERTs or CERT members and managers. The NCA cannot be held liable for materials used or adapted from this program.
A Forum for the Palm Beach County CERTs in the development, sharing and consensus of ideas, and to share lessons-learned from their collective experience.
Information and Training appropriate to provide well coordinated and effective emergency support to our community.
Communication To identify the effective means of communication within and between the Community CERTs, and the county Emergency Operations Center and other emergency resoures.
Liability Mitigation to teach the CERT members what the liability pitfalls are and how to avoid them. To provide liability protection to the Board of Directors, CERT Committee and CERT Team members. And how to defend against a liability claim.
Coordination is the integration of additional external resources to the Communiy CERT before, during or after an emergency incident. These resources would be an addition to the EOC assets (Fire, Police, Rescue, E911 and ambulance service). They may include other Citizen Corps assets or organizations, such as the NOAA Skywarn program, local NOAA Weather Stations, the American Red Cross, local hospitals, ambulance services, pharmacies, food stores, home stores, etc.
It should be noted that the EOC has a wide variety of resources that they can bring to bear from the Florida State DEM and directly from FEMA.
Coordination would also include additional reviews, drills and exerises by the county, the annual Team Gator CERT Refresher or internal CERT drills and exercises.
BACKGROUND
As a result of the new and modified FEMA and Palm Beach County guidance and requirements, the initial documentation of our CERTs should be appropriately modified to more closely follow these changes. This re-documentation would provide more clarity to CERT team responsibilities, practices and procedures. It can also establish a strong defense mechanism to protect CERT members, CERT Committee and their Home Owners Associations from liability related to CERT activity.
There are fewer than 50 neighborhood CERTs still in operation in Palm Beach County today. It has been 10 years since the last hurricane in southern Florida. When the next major storm hits, southern Florida we will have a collection of uncoordinated, out of practice, over-aged CERTs fending for themselves without any form of centralized coordination, guidance and information. Many of the CERTs stopped operating due to concerns about possible liability issues. Many because there was no perceived need after many years without a disaster. It is estimated that the week after the first category 3 storm, there will be at least 20 new CERTs trying to startup up without appropriate coordination, guidance and training.
This website is dedicated to providing information and methods for new and already organized CERTs to create, manage and operate a CERT, and to create some kind of central organization to coordinate the information, development and operation of these (orphaned) non-municipal CERTs.
The information presented in this site is extracted from FEMA and other authoritative websites and presented in condensed form with references to their sources. The three core functions of a CERT, Organization, Operation and Communication, are emphasized. Sample documentation for the formation/re-formation of our CERTs will be developed by the Community CERT committees as a collaborative effort. Final documentation will be made available to be modified and adapted by each Community CERT as appropriate.
The NCA will provide information for the education and training of CERT members and managers. NCA will provide a suggested list of training based on FEMA, FCC and Palm Beacch County requirements. If a Community CERT chooses not to use the suggested training it will weaken that CERTs Liability Mitigation process. NCA does not provide direction to Community CERTs or CERT members and managers. The NCA cannot be held liable for materials used or adapted from this program.