The Bedford Community Emergency Response Team is a volunteer group of residents who have been trained in a variety of emergency preparedness disciplines.  These members have been prepared to respond to large scale emergencies, natural disasters, and special events.  Members of the Bedford Fire Department and the Bedford Police Department conducted an extensive initial training program that was based on national standards for CERT which included incident command, disaster preparedness, first aid, and more.

Working with members from the town’s emergency management team, CERT identified the areas that they are most likely to assist in, and has begun to receive focused training in these areas.  These topics include:

• Shelter Management
• Traffic and Crowd Management Assistance
• Search and Rescue
• Command Post Support Operations