The Hollywood Untied Neighborhood Council (HUNC) was pleased to see so many new Community Emergency Response Training (CERT) graduates at Wednesday night’s HUNC-sponsored CERT graduation. Council Member Mitch O’Farrell, LAFD Deputy Chief Armando Hogan and Fire Commissioners Jimmie Woods-Gray and Jimmy Hara came to show their appreciation to the new graduates.

This is the third CERT class that HUNC has sponsored. HUNC provides refreshments for the students during classes and hands out emergency backpack at graduation.

CERT is an all-risk, all-hazard training that aims to educate community members on what to do in emergency situations. Classes are taught year-round in the City of Los Angeles. CERT students receive 17 1/2 hours (one day a week for seven weeks) of initial training.

The program has been in effect for more than a quarter of a century. It’s origins go back to 1985, when a group of Los Angeles fire official traveled to Japan to learn how the Japanese responded to disastrous earthquakes, discovering that community participants played a significant role in post-disaster support and response.

For more information on CERT, click here

Photos Courtesy of Reinhard Schulte