What is AAACERT? Anne Arundel – Annapolis Community Emergency Response Team, or AAACERT for short, is a nonprofit organizatio ... n that trains volunteers how to prepare for hazards and cope with emergencies. AAACERT courses and drills cover basic disaster prevention, preparation, and response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, communications, and emergency medical procedures. Our members volunteer with the Offices of Emergency Management for Anne Arundel County and City of Annapolis in support of emergency response and public safety. AAACERT volunteers are trained to assist their families, neighbors, and colleagues when disaster strikes and professional responders are not immediately available to help. In addition, AAACERT volunteers support the first responders who keep our communities safe. For example, when activated under the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management (OEM), or the City of Annapolis Office of Emergency Management, AAACERT supports emergency response agencies. AAACERT volunteers are vetted, trained, and certified in compliance with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), which provides a flexible, scalable framework for local, state, tribal, territorial, or federal authorities to prepare for and respond to emergencies. AAACERT is currently supporting Anne Arundel County with its COVID-19 response by volunteering as call takers and provide traffic management and other support to food distributions and vaccine sites. CERT volunteers receive the training needed to respond safely, responsibly, and effectively to emergency situations, and also to support their communities during non-emergency events, such as parades. There are more than 2,700 CERT programs nationwide, with more than 600,000 individuals trained since CERT became a national program. Visit our website to learn more, consider joining, and donating. All are welcome. read more