Registration is now open for the spring Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) session hosted by the city of Santa Clarita, in partnership with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The spring CERT session begins Thursday, March 30, 2017 and runs through Thursday, May 11, 2017. CERT classes are held from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on seven consecutive Thursdays at the Centre, located at 20880 Centre Pointe Parkway.

This nationally certified course is designed to help families, neighborhoods, schools and businesses understand basic emergency/disaster response skills through training and preplanning. The course fee is $30. You must be at least 18 years of age to register. Registration is available online at santa-clarita.com/emergency.

Trainees learn about fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and first aid. This year marks the 20th anniversary for the CERT program in Santa Clarita.

“We already have 2,800 CERT members in our community, and we can always use more. CERT members can give critical support to first responders during an emergency situation,” says Mayor Cameron Smyth. “They can also participate in projects to help improve the safety of the community. We are so grateful for the service CERT members provide,” he adds.

For more information regarding the City of Santa Clarita’s Community Emergency Response Training course or emergency management, please visit santa-clarita.com/emergency or contact Emergency Services Supervisor, Donna Nuzzi at dnuzzi@santa-clarita.com.