CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
In 1985, the Los Angeles City Fire Department recognized the need for disaster preparedness and response training of its citizens. As a result, the LAFD created the Disaster Preparedness Division to train citizens and private and government employees. Eventually, the Federal Emergency Management Agency caught on to what the LAFD was doing and the positive effect its program had on the community. Thus, the Emergency Management Institute and the National Fire Academy adopted and expanded the program to create CERT.
Read more at FEMA’s CERT Site.
MRC - Medical Reserve Corps
The need for trained supplemental medical and public health personnel to assist with emergency operations was highlighted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many medical and public health professionals sought to support emergency relief efforts, but there was no organized approach to channel their efforts. The MRC program provides the structure necessary to deploy medical and public health personnel in response to an emergency, as it identifies specific, trained, credentialed personnel available and ready to respond to emergencies.