If you’re looking for emergency preparedness training for your neighborhood or workplace CERT group, don’t overlook YouTube.

Hundreds of videos are posted there; just go to YouTube, type in “CERT Training” and you can choose.

Narrow your search

Naturally, you don’t want any cert video. You are probably looking to limit your search to some of the following features. (Just type your term in the YouTube search bar after the word “CERT”).

• A specific CERT concept. For example, you might want to search for “CERT Triage” or “CERT Fire Extinguisher” or “CERT Recruitment”.

• Video length. You know your audience better. We have found that a 20 minute video keeps our audience engaged and has enough “meat” to allow for an in-depth discussion afterward. Or you can show two or three very short videos on the same topic and use the discussion time to compare and contrast them.

• Rental. A video set on snow covered city streets, no matter how well done, it will not resonate with the Gulf Coast audience!

• age. Generally, the newer the video, the better the visual and audio quality. In some cases, the standards may have changed as well, so make sure the video content reflects current practice.

• Author. So many different organizations have filmed the training! If you find a font that you like, perhaps from a nearby city or group, you may want to stick with it. You can even subscribe via YouTube to all the videos made by that particular group.

Take Advantage of FEMA Video Reviews

You can find full reviews of some videos on the FEMA website. The reviews correlate the action in the video with specific chapters in the CERT training. Here is an example of a video called “CERT in action”:

At CERT in Action, a fierce storm has hit the local community. CERT members are activated in their neighborhood, establish an Incident Command Post, and assess the damage throughout the area. They use their CERT skills to respond to injured and injured victims at the local community center, managing the situation until professional responders can arrive. This video provides a helpful introduction to the CERT concept for new program participants and others who may be interested in the program. This video will also support the material presented in Unit 6 of the CERT Basic Training course: CERT Organization. CERT trainers will be able to use the video to initiate a dialogue about CERT’s use of ICS and other critical characteristics of successful team operations.

Create a leader’s guide for the video

We recently showed “CERT in Action” to our team and it was well received. The video is 19 minutes, 15 seconds long and was uploaded in February 2013.

Since not everyone in the room was CERT trained, we produced a “Leader’s Guide”: Ten questions (presented via PowerPoint) to present the video. After we saw it, the questions served to inspire a useful discussion.

Overall, the ten introductory questions, video, and post-video discussion took around 45 minutes, which was perfect for the hour-long meeting we had scheduled.

The discussion deviated from the questions, of course, because our group wanted to talk more about how a CERT group would respond after an earthquake, rather than a storm. (We’re in dry Southern California after all!) But having the questions kept the meeting moving and ensured the main points were covered.

Feedback? “Good video.” “I learned something.” “It was worth my time.”