Hi, a coworker of mine recently told me in passing that she is taking the Maryland CERT training for free. Right after Cedar Rapids I was surfing around and what I found was definitely not free. I plan to ask her for more details, but thought I'd also ask you knowledgable folks too. Thanks!
Chris

Hey,My husband Joseph and I both took the CERT training with our Plaquimines Parish Sheriffs department and it was free.That was in La. All it cost was our time.Check with your local Red Cross their instuctors do the CPR classes they may be able to direct you to a free training class.Good Luck,Lori Wilson La. State COr. UAN

I took the CERT training for Milwaukee County, WI last June. It was free; I think they get funding from Homeland Security to pay for it. Maybe you county's funding has run out? Our training was run by our Department of Emergency Management, which is a division of the Sheriff's Department here. It was well worth the three days of class. Lots of fun, learned a lot, and later got to play a victem in a plane crash drill at the airport. They were also haappy to know about EARS and i was able to tell the class about the county's emergency plans for pets Check with your Office of Emergency Management.

More & more towns are offering it free. In Texas the city of Arlington's Fired Department offered it. Check with the Fire Dept or Police Dept. The city office may not know much about it. We have learned that many of the city staff do not know about "CERT". So don't get upset if they say they don't know anything. Just keep calling around.

Wow - great suggestions all - thanks!! I'll let you know what I find. :-)

Hi Chris,

I'm also in Maryland. Did you find anything?

Newt

Hi Newt and everyone!

I'm a bit ashamed to say I dropped the ball on this one. Not that it's an excuse, but I just finished my first semester on my way to becoming a Registered Vet Tech and got immersed in my classes. Part of me longs to go along to each and every EARS or "pass through" deployment, but I try to send my energy along anyway. Hopefully when I finally become a RVT I'll be more effective in what help I do give. In any case, I never looked into this the way I wanted to. If you happen to find out anything on your end, please let me know. Happy Holidays to everyone!!
Chris