Antelope Valley volunteer Cert group works to promote earthquake preparedness.

Aimed at helping Antelope Valley residents get ready for an earthquake or other major emergency, disaster preparedness training for the general public will be offered starting Saturday in Lancaster through the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s CERT (Community Emergency Response Training) program, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger’s office announced. The Basic CERT Class sessions will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 13; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 20, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 27 at Learn 4 Life Charter School, 177 East Holston Drive, west of Business Center Parkway (Division Street) near Avenue K-10 in the Lancaster Business Park. Completing all three sessions for a total of 21 hours of training gets participants CERT certificates. The class is free. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department will present the training. As was shown after the July 4 and July 5 earthquakes that damaged Ridgecrest and Trona, police, fire and medical professionals may not be able to fully meet the demand immediately following a disaster. People will have to rely on each other to meet the immediate life saving and life sustaining needs, particularly in isolated neighborhoods that may be cut off from the main roads for a period of time. The Los Angeles County Fire Department Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) program was developed through FEMA to provide basic training in safety and life saving skills for the general public. CERT chapters exist in many Antelope Valley communities, and residents of other communities are starting their own chapters. The course curriculum covers: •Emergency Preparedness •CERT Organization •Fire Safety •Disaster Psychology •Emergency Medical Operations-One victim •Terrorism •Emergency Medical Operations-Triage •Course Review •Light Search and Rescue Operations •Disaster Simulation Exercise Participants must attend all three sessions to get a certificate of completion. To sign up, register at http://www.fire.lacounty.gov/cert For additional information, call (661) 537-2901 Class size is limited so sign up today to reserve a seat. For more local CERT information, visit www.antelopevalleycert.com.